


A Song of Sand and Stars

by Rey_KnightofRen



Category: Game of Thrones (TV), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, F/M, Game of Thrones References, House Baratheon, House Stark, House Targaryen, Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Reylo - Freeform, The Night's Watch (ASoIaF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2020-09-28 21:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 44,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20432456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rey_KnightofRen/pseuds/Rey_KnightofRen
Summary: A Star Wars Reylo/Game of Thrones inspired AU: Rey Snow is an orphaned scavenger adopted by House Stark, one of the noble families of Westeros. She flees from King’s Landing, the capital city, in horror after watching the public betrayal and beheading of her adoptive father, Ned Stark. Meanwhile, across the continent, Ben of House Organa has taken on the name “Kylo Ren” and abandoned his family heritage to join the Night’s Watch, a strict military order that requires him to forsake all past and future connections and relationships. As the threat of war hangs over Westeros, destiny draws Rey and Ben together, revealing their family secrets and unleashing ancient powers that will forever change the world...





	1. Whispers in the Night

Rey Snow shivered in the darkness of the cave, wrapping her arms around her knees and rocking slowly back and forth as her eyes blurred with tears. She needed sleep — desperately — but she was unwilling to close her eyes. Because she knew that as soon as she did, the nightmares would return.

Every time she closed her eyes, she could see every single detail from that horrible day — proud, noble Ned Stark, paraded in front of the jeering crowd at King’s Landing, while the current ruler of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, Armitage Baratheon, read aloud Ned’s list of “crimes.” In truth, Ned’s only crime was trying to do the right thing and save Westeros from the current king’s cruelty and madness.

From where she remained hidden in the crowd, Rey had been powerless to do anything but watch as Armitage ordered Ned to be executed by beheading — immediately. Ned had locked eyes with Rey for one final moment, mouthing words she couldn’t understand, before the sword came down and Ned was gone.

Every moment after that had become a blur of horror and confusion; she remembered pushing her way through the crowd as she sobbed; some kind soul had spotted her, recognized her, and urged her to run, rousing her from her state of shock. There had been no way to get to Sansa, Ned’s daughter, who had been forced to watch from the platform, and Rey had no idea where her adoptive sister was now.

Rey knew that many in Westeros would say she had no right to grieve Ned, who was not technically her father. He had discovered her as a small child while on some secret mission for the previous king (Brendol Baratheon, Armitage’s father), in a desert land with no name far beyond the borders of Westeros. He had raised her as one of his own children, and Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon had always treated her as one of their own siblings.

Rey had heard most of the gossip whispered about her, in tones that were not always hushed. Some criticized Ned for adopting an orphaned desert scavenger, a “nobody” who could not remember her real parents. Others accused her of secretly being Ned’s bastard, and believed the story about finding her in the desert was a lie told to avoid tarnishing the family name.

“You are as much of a Stark as any of us,” Ned had always assured her, instructing the members of his household to always refer to her as “Rey Stark,” even though the rest of the world only recognized her as a “Snow,” the identifier given to all bastards with no family name.

Her eyes burning, Rey wiped away her tears as she listened to the fierce, chill wind howling outside. She would mourn Ned Stark as a father; though he was not related to her by blood, he’d been a true father to her in all the ways that counted. And now, he was gone, and Rey was desperately trying to find her way back home.

_If I can just get back to Winterfell, I’ll be safe. I can fight to protect the rest of my family. I’ll avenge Ned Stark’s death._

She knew it would only be a matter of time before Armitage Baratheon sent his armies to Winterfell, the home of House Stark in the North, but surely by now Robb, Ned’s heir, had heard the news and would be mobilizing the armies of the North for war. In fact, before his death Ned had already been making quiet preparations of his own, should Armitage prove impossible to stop through diplomatic means.

Ned had served as Hand of the King to Armitage’s father, Brendol. Brendol hadn’t exactly been a good man, but he was a saint compared to the terror that his son had morphed into. “Armitage” was too noble, too fine a name for that entitled monster, and so his enemies had gifted him with the briefer, uglier nickname “Hux,” named after a soul-stealing creature from an old fairytale. As the legend went, the Hux snuffed out the joy and light from every room it entered, and that’s exactly what Armitage did.

Brendol had died in a supposed hunting accident, but everyone knew that Hux had ordered him to be killed so that he could seize control of the Seven Kingdoms and sit on the Iron Throne himself. Though some believed Hux had been corrupted by Snoke, the high priest of the First Order who advised him, Rey believed Hux had always been rotten to the core. She’d seen his cruelty, his selfishness, and the predatory way he looked at her sister Sansa. Arya would have immediately stuck him with a sword, which is probably why the youngest Stark daughter had been left behind at Winterfell when Ned took Sansa and Rey along with him to King’s Landing.

Rey was 17 years old, the same age as Ned’s oldest son, Robb, and she knew she would be expected to marry soon. That’s why most people thought Ned was taking her to King’s Landing, to find an advantageous match. However, Rey believed Ned had taken her to King’s Landing simply because she had a curious mind and longed to travel and see more of Westeros. Now she wished they’d all remained at home in Winterfell, safe behind the castle walls.

Drawing her cloak more tightly around her after finding that rocking back and forth failed to warm her, Rey clutched the hilt of her small sword, just to remind herself it was still there. It was one of Ned’s final gifts to her, and she would treasure it forever, fighting off anyone who tried to take it from her.

She was grateful she still had it with her, and she was also thankful she’d been wearing a tunic, pants, and boots on the day she fled, rather than one of her fine dresses. She’d had to steal the cloak she now wore from a shopkeeper, though she’d left a small pile of coins for him as payment. She wouldn’t do anything to sully Ned Stark’s good name, even if it was for the sake of survival. She knew how important honor was to the Stark family.

Despite her grief and ongoing fear of being discovered in the cave by Hux’s men or, perhaps even worse, some of Snoke’s First Order warrior-priests, she could feel her eyelids drooping lower and lower as exhaustion took hold.

_Sleep...I need sleep…_

She would have to give into that urge soon, but first she wanted to determine what she would do in the morning. She had no bloody idea where she was right now. As a child she’d studied the maps of Westeros, along with her brothers and sisters, and she’d paid close attention on the road from Winterfell to King’s Landing. But the trauma of watching Ned die had scrambled her mind, and even though she was fairly certain she was still heading North, she had to stay off the main roads and now she didn’t know exactly where Winterfell was anymore.

_“You’re not lost, Rey — keep heading North, and you’ll arrive not where you want to go, but where you need to be…”_

Rey flinched, and she felt her skin start to crawl as the voice whispered in her ears, barely more than a breath but certainly more than just the wind. Though she was afraid, she wasn’t surprised, because she’d heard this voice before. And though she kept trying to dismiss it, it continued to haunt her.

Exactly six months before Ned Stark’s death (to the day, in fact), Rey started to experience strange…“visions,” was perhaps the best word for them. She’d be going about her regular business, and then her vision would fade to black and she’d catch snatches of images — places, people, objects — that she’d never seen before but felt, in some inexplicable way, familiar. At first this lasted only a few seconds, and she’d tried to convince herself they were daydreams manifested by a tired mind.

But when they continued to come to her unbidden, again and again and again, she’d attempted to tell Ned and his wife Catelyn about them, hoping they could explain what was happening to her. Although their response had been compassionate, she could see by the concerned looks in their eyes that they thought she was hallucinating, or worse, possessed by some dark force. She hadn’t wanted to worry them, not with so many troubles already on Ned’s mind as Hand of the King, and so she’d stopped speaking up. Even when the visions started increasing in length and frequency, and she began hearing an audible voice as well.

_“Your time is coming, Rey,” _it whispered to her in the dark._ “‘No One’ will become ‘Someone,’ and she will help remake the world.”_

Well, Rey didn’t have any bloody idea what it all meant, and she wanted no part of it. She just wanted Ned Stark back, and to see the rest of her family again. Even if no one else in Westeros recognized that they _were_ her family.

In the morning, she’d keep heading North, not because the voice told her so, but because it was the only thing she could do. Eventually, she would have to stumble across a recognizable landmark that would lead her to Winterfell.

Resting her head on her bag containing her meager stash of supplies, Rey finally surrendered to the exhaustion and tried to drift off to sleep. Sometimes the visions and the voices invaded her dreams as well, but at least it would be better than watching Hux scream at the crowd before beheading Ned Stark.

As she closed her eyes, images immediately began dancing in her mind.

_Warrior-priests of the First Order, clad all in white, gathering around a fire. A woman raising a sword and leading an army. A Tree that was not a tree, crying into the wind. Dragons unfurling their wings and taking to the skies._

And then finally, the image she saw most often:

_A dark-haired boy wearing dark robes, bracing himself against the cold. He was watching, ever watching as he stood atop a wall made of ice. His dark eyes pierced her, and she felt his soul calling to hers, even though they did not know each other._

“Go away,” Rey mumbled as she finally slipped from consciousness, and disappeared into the world of dreams.

But not before that voice in the wind softly beckoned to her once more:

_“Destiny calls to you, Daughter of the Desert Sands. Will you answer?”_

***

Ben of House Organa stood on top of the towering ice Wall guarding the land of Westeros, peering into the darkness as flecks of snow coated his heavy black cloak. He’d come up here to meditate, to attempt to find some solace in the silent stillness, but, as always, it failed to actually work.

He’d come to the Wall six months ago to join the Night’s Watch, much to the shock and disappointment of everyone in House Organa.

To some, the Night’s Watch was a noble calling. The ancient military order was composed of soldiers who renounced their family name and took on vows of celibacy, forsaking all connections but their bonds to each other and to the Watch. They were stationed at the legendary Wall of Westeros — a massive structure hundreds of feet high at the far northern border that protected the people of the Seven Kingdoms from the terrifying creatures in the Unknown Regions beyond.

No one remembered exactly what those creatures were anymore, because no one in a thousand years had ventured across the Wall and lived to tell the tale. Sometimes Ben found himself wondering, though, drawn by a dangerous sort of curiosity to learn those secrets beyond the Wall. Shouldn’t the members of the Night’s Watch know what terrors lurked in the shadows of the Unknown Regions? _“The night is dark and full of terrors…”_ That’s how the saying went, but what did it even mean?

His uncle Luke, former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, had refused to answer that question, or any of Ben’s other questions, actually. Ben had thought his uncle would be honored Ben was following in his footsteps and joining the Watch, but Luke seemed to think he was doing it for the wrong reasons. The truth was, they’d never really gotten along, and if they couldn’t bond over the Night’s Watch, there probably wasn’t much hope for their relationship. Especially after his uncle had disappeared a year ago, and no one had heard from him since, or had any idea where he’d gone.

Ben shifted his weight from foot to foot, unwilling to admit that even after six months, he was still having trouble adjusting to the cold northern temperatures. If his mother was here, he had a feeling she’d tell him, “I told you this was a bad decision.” And while he couldn’t admit it, even to himself, she was probably right.

General Leia of House Organa, also descended from the mighty dragon lords of House Targaryen, was a force of nature who could make even Armitage Baratheon tremble in her presence. Her father, Anakin, was a legendary knight, hailed as one of the greatest warriors in the history of Westeros, before falling to the dark, seductive power promised by the First Order, a shadowy religious order no one really knew much about.

Once celebrated as a hero but now regarded as a villain, Anakin had been banished beyond the Wall for his crimes and was never seen again. The irony in that was now the First Order was even more powerful, and Anakin was almost worshiped by their warrior-priests. The former First Order high priest, Sheev Palpatine, had disappeared when Anakin did, but their current leader, Snoke, was a lot like him, and had managed to win a place in Armitage Baratheon’s court. Although Snoke was technically still subject to Armitage, in truth he wielded even more power than the king, thanks to the dark magic he practiced.

Ben’s mother, Leia, had been working to undermine Armitage for some time, first behind the scenes, building a resistance, and then more recently in open rebellion, refusing to recognize his claim to the Iron Throne. Rumor had it that House Stark was sympathetic to her cause, and that the Hand of the King, Ned Stark, was even serving as a spy for her.

Ben knew that as her only child, Leia wanted him to join her in this fight, especially after his father, Han, had died during an early resistance mission to try to steal the magical sword Snoke kept locked in his chambers at King’s Landing and used to channel his powers.

However, the Night’s Watch was a neutral entity; Armitage couldn’t use it to attempt to quell the rebellion in Westeros, and the Watch also couldn’t move to oppose any of the king’s actions. Leia thought that wasn’t enough: “You can’t just worry about the threats outside of Westeros,” she’d told him. “We have to fight injustice inside our borders too! We don’t even know what’s beyond the Wall; what if the things we’re trying to keep out are actually innocents who also need protection?”

Though Leia had assured Ben that she would always love him, he’d seen what a blow he’d dealt her when he mounted his horse and rode away from the gates of Castle Organa, seeing the red banners emblazoned with a phoenix, their house crest, for the final time. She wanted him to support her in what she saw as a battle for the soul of Westeros, and she couldn’t understand why Ben would turn a blind eye to the evil festering in King’s Landing.

Well, Ben had his own reasons for joining the Night’s Watch, and they were ones he had to keep to himself. Besides, he’d already taken the vows now, and there was no going back.

_“Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no spouse, hold no lands, bear no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.”_

He had to take those words seriously. He’d even forsaken his old name, Ben Organa, calling himself “Kylo Ren” instead so that people wouldn’t be constantly reminded of his connections to nobility.

And yet, he couldn’t stop thinking of himself as “Ben,” and in his heart he kept feeling a tug southward, back to the seat of House Organa in sun-kissed Alderaan by the Summer Sea.

“You can’t run from destiny,” his uncle Luke had told him oh-so-unhelpfully before leaving the Night’s Watch. “It will catch up with you eventually. It always does.”

Well, Ben had run all the way to the frozen North, and fate would just have to find a way to let go of him.

_The Wall suits me,_ he told himself. It was as miserable here as he felt inside.

“Kylo Ren, I need you to come with me immediately.”

Ben lurched. The gravelly voice behind him had startled him, and he turned, finding Lord Commander Moden Canady staring at him with a mixture of disgust and disapproval. Canady didn’t like to see his men “brooding on the Wall,” as he called it. In spite of himself, Ben did a lot of that.

“Yes, Sir.”

While he was surprised and a bit rattled, that was the only answer Ben could give, even though the rebellious part of himself wanted to ask, “Why?” He had interacted directly with Lord Commander Canady on only a few occasions, and as a rookie member of the Watch, he certainly hadn’t expected to be given a personal mission this soon.

However, Canady had plenty of surprises for him tonight.

“We’ve had news from King’s Landing,” he told Ben bluntly. “Our king has discovered that Ned Stark is a traitor, participating in a rebellion led by Leia Organa.” He did not acknowledge that he was speaking of Ben’s mother. “Ned has been executed for his crimes.”

Ben tried to keep his expression blank, because he had a sudden feeling he was being tested. If Ned was executed as a traitor, what did that mean for his mother?

“In light of that, the king sent a raven with a special message regarding a mission for the Night’s Watch, and he requested I assign it specifically to you,” Canady continued, and Ben had to fight even harder to remain silent. What was _this_ about? The king couldn’t command the Night’s Watch; they were neutral observers and protectors. That was one of the most ancient laws in Westeros. Was Canady just going along with this?

“Ned Stark’s daughter, Sansa, is in custody, and an army of the king’s soldiers and First Order acolytes is marching to Winterfell as we speak, to place it under siege,” Canady said. “But his bastard daughter, Rey Snow, escaped, and is presumed to be somewhere in the wilderness, attempting to make her way to Winterfell.”

“Why does the king need Ned’s bastard daughter?”

The question was out before Ben could stop it, a hint of his father’s snarky skepticism sneaking through. Despite Ben’s resentment towards his father, in too many ways he was still his father’s son.

Canady smacked Ben’s face, the leather glove causing his skin to sting with pain. “High Priest Snoke demands it, and if I were you, I would dare not question him. Your mission is to find this girl, and take her to King’s Landing.”

“Yes...Sir.” Ben clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to calm himself and tamper the anger that was boiling up inside him. He couldn’t afford to lash out, not at Canady. Even though he hated the smugness that rose in Canady’s eyes as he realized he’d effectively brought Ben to heel.

“You’ll leave immediately,” Cannady said and then abruptly turned, not even waiting to see if Ben would follow. He’d almost disappeared into the dark before Ben heard him calling back, “Oh, and if you can’t find her, or if she dies under your watch? Consider your life to be forfeit.”


	2. Hunter in the Shadows

Rey Snow tried to maintain an air of calm confidence as she walked towards the tavern, even though she could feel her heart hammering in her chest.

She knew it was risky to come here. She wasn’t sure what she would do if someone suspected who she was, or worse, recognized her outright as Ned Stark’s fugitive daughter. But she’d reached a point of desperation; she was exhausted, shivering, and starving, and she had to find a place to get out of the icy-cold rain that had been falling since mid-afternoon. She couldn’t afford to catch cold, not when she was all alone in the wilderness with no medicines or access to a healer.

It had already been a trying day; shortly after sunrise, she’d nearly wandered into a small encampment of Hux’s soldiers. Whether they were out looking for her or were on their way to the siege at Winterfell, she didn’t know, and she hadn’t waited around to find out.

One of them had heard her rustling in the bushes as she backed away from the campsite, and several of them had gotten up to investigate. Filled with terror, she’d immediately taken off running into the woods, her fear overriding the instincts that told her it was probably smarter to hide quietly rather than attempt to flee. All she could think of was that awful sword coming down on Ned Stark’s head, and she wanted to get as far away from these soldiers as quickly as possible. She couldn’t let them get their hands on her.

The soldiers pursued her on foot for a few moments but soon gave up, perhaps assuming she was just a deer or some other woodland creature. They probably didn’t think a fine lady like one of the Stark daughters would be able to run so quickly, or be so effective at avoiding capture. Well, she would continue to use that assumption against them; likely born and raised in or near King’s Landing, these men didn’t know what it took to survive in the North. The people of the North were hardy folk, and Ned had ensured that both his sons and daughters would not be helpless should they ever find themselves outside the safety of the walls of Winterfell.

Even after the soldiers had broken off their pursuit, Rey continued running for quite some time, afraid that someone would catch her as soon as she stopped to rest. By the time she reached the small village with the tavern, her muscles were burning and each step sent shooting pains up her legs. That was when she decided she had to stop at the tavern and rest, risks be damned.

Rey paused at the door to the tavern, staring through the window at the warm fire flickering within. She pulled her hood a little lower over her face, covering more of her features in shadow. She’d be careful not to make eye contact with anyone inside, but she would also try to avoid appearing too skittish.

“You can do this,” she told herself, taking a deep breath. “You’re just an ordinary traveler, stopping at a tavern for a hot meal.”

She knew it would seem a little suspicious that a teenage girl would be stopping at an unfamiliar tavern unaccompanied, but she hoped people wouldn’t look too closely, and that they’d assume she was older than she truly was.

With one final deep breath to calm herself, she pushed open the door and stepped into the tavern. To her surprise and relief, the main room was quiet and almost deserted, with only a few patrons sitting at a couple of tables near the back. They barely even noticed as she walked in, more focused on their own conversations and mugs of ale.

Rey stepped up to the bar, forcing herself to smile nonchalantly. _Remember, don’t act like your presence here is suspicious,_ she reminded herself as the young woman tending to the bar turned towards her.

The first thing she noticed about the other woman was her kind eyes; she was about Rey’s age, and she had dark hair that was pulled back into a messy knot at the nape of her neck. She immediately returned Rey’s smile.

“Well, you look like you’ve had quite a day,” the woman said. “What can I get for you?”

“A hot meal would be wonderful,” Rey said. “I don’t even care what it is — I’m just dying for something to eat.” She paused, and realized that might have sounded too desperate. She didn’t want this woman to guess that she’d been on the run all day. She had to be careful not to let the woman’s friendliness lull her into a false sense of safety; as she’d learned from her experiences at King’s Landing, friendly eyes and a kind tone could hide a dangerous predator underneath.

“It’s a good thing you’re not particular, because all I’ve got left is this pot of stew,” the woman said, dropping a ladle-full of soup into a bowl and then handing it to Rey. “It’s nothing special, but it’s warm, and I made it myself.”

Rey was so hungry she struggled to remember her manners and had to force herself not to immediately begin drinking the soup straight from the bowl. She thought the young woman was being too modest; this soup was delicious.

“I’m Rose, by the way,” the young woman said. “My father, Hue Tico, runs this tavern, and my sister and I help him.” Rose’s eyes turned sad. “My mother used to work here too, but she caught the Greyscale sickness and died several years ago.”

Rey felt her stomach twist, thinking of her own recent loss. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for your family.”

Rose stared at her thoughtfully for a moment, and Rey had the uncomfortable sensation that Rose was guessing more details about her than she’d like.

“Too many people in Westeros know what it’s like to experience that kind of grief,” Rose said softly. “And I fear even greater danger lies ahead for all the people I care about.”

The words were vague, but perilous, and Rey chose to simply nod in reply. Whether Rose was referring to the mysterious creatures that were rumored to be gathering beyond the Wall, or whether she meant Hux’s increasing tyranny, neither thought was safe to voice out loud.

“Well, I’ve got to attend to my other customers,” Rose said, “but you’re welcome to stay as long as you like. We’ve even got a spare cot in the back, if you need a place to sleep tonight. Help yourself to more soup if you’re hungry.”

“Thank you,” Rey said. She reached for her coin pouch, but Rose was already shaking her head.

“It’s on me tonight,” she said, and gripped Rey’s hand tightly for a moment before turning away.

It wasn’t until she’d released her grip on Rey’s hand that Rey realized the other woman had tucked a small piece of paper into her fist.

With trembling fingers, Rey slowly opened it and then had to bite her lip — hard — to keep herself from gasping.

_“The North remembers…”_

Three simple words that perhaps no one else in this tavern would understand, yet Rey knew exactly what they meant.

Rose Tico knew who she was, and she wasn’t afraid to declare that she was a Stark sympathizer. Did that mean she was also a member of the rebellion led by House Organa?

Before Rey could even consider whether it was worth it to openly admit to Rose who she really was and ask for help, the door to the tavern flew open and a tall young man strode in.

Rey felt as though her heart had stopped. It wasn’t because she recognized what he was: the heavy cloak, black uniform, and sword hanging at his side immediately marked him as a member of the Night’s Watch. Her shock came from the fact that while she had never met this man before and didn’t know his name, this was the face she saw almost every night in her dreams.

_A dark-haired boy wearing dark robes, bracing himself against the cold. He was watching, ever watching as he stood atop a wall made of ice. His dark eyes pierced her, and she felt his soul calling to hers, even though they did not know each other._

He was even more striking in person; he was taller than average, with broad shoulders and an imposing stance. His dark hair was neither long nor short, and though he wasn’t dressed like a nobleman, he carried himself like one. Rey’s cheeks colored slightly as she caught herself admiring how handsome he was.

Those piercing eyes swept around the tavern, and his gaze quickly settled on her. For a moment, they both froze as they stared at each other, seeming a bit stunned to find the other here. She was so surprised that she didn’t even think to run. This was the first time one of her visions had manifested in the flesh, and the experience was terrifying and strangely thrilling.

However, the young man quickly broke the spell he’d cast over her by proclaiming, “Rey Snow, I’ve been ordered to detain you and take you back to King’s Landing. I’d advise you to surrender immediately and peacefully.”

Rey couldn’t believe what she was hearing; had he really just exposed her identity and then expected her to follow him happily back to that pit of vipers? Even though she didn’t know him, she felt betrayed, somehow; seeing him so often in her dreams had made her feel a strange sort of intimacy with him. She hadn’t imagined that her dreams of him might actually be a warning.

“Who are you?” she shot back, neither confirming nor denying her identity.

“Kylo Ren, member of the Night’s Watch,” he said. “There’s no point in trying to resist; you don’t have anywhere to run, and I’m not leaving here without you.”

He glanced around at the other tavern patrons. “And don’t any of you get ideas about interfering or causing trouble; this is just between me and the Stark girl.”

All the patrons took one look at him and nodded fearfully; none of them were brave enough to try tackling a member of the Night’s Watch, especially one as tall and well-built as this “Kylo Ren.”

Rey should have been afraid too; she was facing down a skilled warrior who would tower over her if he stood right next to her. He had better weapons, and better training.

However, all Rey felt right now was anger. She’d already watched the execution of her father, wandered for days alone in the wilderness, and had no idea of whether she’d ever live a normal life again. She had no patience for this arrogant young man from the Night’s Watch, and despite what he said, she had no intentions of leaving this tavern with him.

Her hand slowly drifted to her sword, and she caught Rose’s eye. Rose nodded in silent solidarity. Maybe Kylo Ren would ultimately win this fight, but Rey wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

Kylo saw her reaching for her sword, and he immediately held out a hand, trying to placate her. “Listen Rey, I didn’t come here to fight—”

Rey didn’t give him a chance to finish. Whipping out her sword, she charged at him, slamming into his broad chest as hard as she could with her shoulder and—

Nothing happened. He remained planted right where he stood, absorbing the full force of her blow with seemingly no effect. Stars, he was even stronger than she thought!

He tried to grab her but she ducked out of the way, shedding her cape in the process. Her adoptive brother Robb had taught her that particular move: _“Don’t give them something to grab onto. Stay light on your feet.”_

She tried to knee him in the groin, but he saw that coming and avoided her. Still, his brief moment of distraction turned out to be all the opening she needed to swing her fist and land a solid blow on his face.

Kylo stumbled back a step, and Rey noted, with no small amount of satisfaction, that he was probably going to have a rather sizable black eye in the morning. (Robb had taught her that move too, the last time they’d sparred — and she’d also given him a black eye, though not intentionally.)

She swiped at Kylo with her sword, just to put him off balance, and he took a second step back. Obviously, he hadn’t been prepared for her to fight back with such ferocity; she would have to use this sudden uncertainty against him.

Trying to think of what would unsettle him most, she suddenly blurted, “I see you in my dreams every night.”

Her ploy worked; even if she’d raised her hands and called down fire from the sky, she didn’t think Kylo could have been anymore surprised.

“What?” he asked, staring at her with a mix of confusion, suspicion, and some other emotion she couldn’t place.

“I’ve seen you standing on the Wall, and brooding — I bet you do a lot of that, don’t you?”

His eyes flashed. “You don’t know anything about me. I don’t know how it’s possible for you to—”

While Kylo was focused on Rey, Rose had grabbed a cooking skillet from behind the bar, and she now swung it at Kylo as hard as she could. Even though she wasn’t tall enough to hit him on the head, she slammed it on his back hard enough to knock the wind out of him.

Kylo unleashed a string of curses that Rey would have been severely punished for if she’d uttered them in front of Ned or Catelyn. He lunged for Rey, knocking over a table in the process. Though she tried to duck out of his grip, he wrapped his strong fingers around her arm and refused to let go. He grabbed her other hand and twisted it, not enough to hurt her but enough to make her drop her sword.

Her anger rising, Rey continued to struggle as he swung her around to face him, and then she found herself suddenly looking up into his eyes. She expected him to be angry too, but he wasn’t; frustrated and tired of this fight, yes, but also...impressed. In spite of himself, he was impressed with the way she fought back and hadn’t allowed herself to simply be captured.

When you are in the right, do not yield — Ned had taught her that. And so she stared down Kylo, unflinching; she wasn’t going to bloody yield to him.

Her gaze finally succeeded in making him uncomfortable. He decided that they’d been staring at each other for too long, and he jerked his eyes away from her. Glancing around the tavern, he growled, “Unless anyone else feels the need to try something stupid, I’ll be leaving now.” He looked at Rose and sarcastically added, “Thank you for your hospitality.”

Rose locked eyes with Rey, and for a moment, Rey wondered if Rose was going to charge at him with her skillet again. Rey silently shook her head, warning the other girl against it. Without swords, Rey didn’t think even the two of them combined could take down Kylo Ren.

Though she still looked like she was spoiling for a fight, Rose nodded in return, mouthing the words, “The North remembers…”

Those words gave Rey a flutter of hope, even as Kylo bound her hands together and picked up her sword, making sure to keep it far away from her. She didn’t know how, but she trusted Rose to get word to the other Starks at Winterfell. Robb and Arya would come for her; it wasn’t over yet.

As Kylo prepared to go, dragging Rey along with him, Rose called out, “So are you going to pay for that table you broke?”

Kylo stared back at her, grim amusement in his eyes. “How about you consider it a tax for all the hard work the Night’s Watch does guarding the Wall and keeping all of you safe?”

And with that, he pulled Rey out of the tavern and into the cold, dark night.

***

Ben would never dare to admit it, but it was proving to be a lot more difficult to keep track of Rey Snow than he’d thought.

Regardless of his thoughts on the mission itself, he assumed it would be an easy assignment. After all, how much trouble would it really take to capture a lord’s pampered daughter and transport her to King’s Landing?

Well, as it turns out, it was a great deal of trouble. Rey was certainly not some pampered, preening noble. Apparently, someone had done a very good job of training her how to fend for herself. By the time he’d finally grabbed her in that tavern, she’d dealt him a number of expertly placed blows. He still felt the bruises, and he had to fight not to wince every time he mounted his horse. He absolutely did not want Rey to know that she’d slipped through his defenses so skillfully.

Worse, she hadn’t stopped rebelling and trying to escape since they’d left the tavern. Even though her hands remained tied, every time he turned his back to her she’d try to take off running into the woods. When he inevitably caught up to her, she squirmed and kicked, giving him more bruises in the process. At this point, he could barely sit down.

Whenever they camped for the night, he had to start tying her hands and feet together, so she literally could not run away. They had to sleep in the same tent, since he’d only been given one, and though he tried to leave as much space between them as possible, it was still an uncomfortable experience. Every night she’d stare at him with daggers in her eyes until he finally had to turn over and face the other direction. Neither one of them seemed to get much sleep, but somehow in the morning she was always more rested than him.

The temperatures grew warmer the closer they traveled to King’s Landing, but Ben’s mood did little to improve. It wasn’t enjoyable to spend every moment of every day with a person who utterly despised you and wanted nothing more than to be thousands of miles away from you. Having to share both a tent and a horse certainly didn’t help. (Rey had to ride in front of him, with his arms around her, because the first time they’d ridden together, she’d been sitting behind him and tried to jump off the horse.)

He was also sick of the stale ration packets Lord Commander Canady had given him, and so finally, one night he risked building a fire to cook some actual meat from game he’d hunted in the woods. Although starting a fire brought the risk of drawing unwanted attention, he figured they were far south enough at this point that it was extremely unlikely for Northern sympathizers to be nearby.

As he built a makeshift spit to roast the meat, he glanced across the fire at Rey.

“So, Lady Snow, am I going to have to tie your feet while I cook this, or can we call a temporary truce? A hot-cooked meal in exchange for not trying to run away again?”

Rey glared at him, but she eventually nodded. She was trying not to let it show, but he could see the way she hungrily eyed the roasting meat. He trusted (well, mostly) that this time she actually would stay put.

As the sun sank lower beneath the horizon, they listened in sullen silence to the sounds of crickets chirping. Surprisingly, it was Rey who finally broke that silence; she rarely initiated conversations between them that didn’t involve calling him “a monster.”

“I figured out who you are,” she said, and Ben felt a strange twisting in his gut. What was she trying to start this time? They hadn’t spoken again of her strange comment in the tavern: “I see you in my dreams every night.” Maybe it had merely been a trick to throw him off balance during their fight, but it was such an oddly specific thing to say. Why in the Seven Kingdoms would Ned Stark’s adoptive daughter have dreams of him, a man she’d never met before?

“You’re Ben, of House Organa,” she said, and Ben tried not to let his surprise show. He must not have been very successful, because Rey immediately continued, deducing that she was right. “My father and my older brother Robb were talking about you once: Leia Organa’s only son who abandoned his House and joined the Night’s Watch. They must have heard inaccurate or mixed-up information about your new name, because they called you the Knight of Ren, rather than ‘Kylo Ren’ of the Night’s Watch. That’s why it took me a while to connect the names.”

“I didn’t abandon House Organa,” Ben stated, but Rey kept gazing at him critically.

“Well, is it really that shocking people perceived it that way?” she said. “You left your mother and abdicated your role as heir to House Organa, without a single bit of explanation. Ned Stark said Leia’s heart was broken.”

What Rey was kind enough not to add was that he’d left his mother when she was already grieving the loss of her husband and his father.

“I had my reasons for doing what I did, and I don’t have to justify them to you,” he said. “I know I made the right call.”

“Really? Because it certainly seems like you’re still pretty defensive,” Rey said. “I can see the doubt in your eyes. I think you’ve had second thoughts every day since you joined the Night’s Watch.”

_Yes, I have._

If Ben was giving Rey an honest answer, that was what he would have said. But there was no way he could actually say it. He couldn’t afford to let that particular rumor catch fire; even if he hated being in the Night’s Watch, it was all he had left.

For whatever reason, Rey was in a talkative mood tonight (most likely because they were both desperately bored), and so when he didn’t reply, instead of falling into silence again she changed topics.

“Is it true that House Organa also has Targaryen blood?” she asked him. “Have you ever seen a dragon?”

Ben wasn’t fond of this topic of conversation either, but it was at least better than her questioning his motives for joining the Night’s Watch. So, he decided to humor her.

“Yes, I do have Targaryen blood — a tiny amount — but it really doesn’t mean anything,” he replied, staring into the flames dancing around the roasting meat. “And I’ve never seen a dragon because there are no dragons left in the world.”

The Targaryen dynasty had once ruled the Seven Kingdoms, before being overthrown by House Baratheon and utterly wiped out. All the Targaryens’ dragons were supposedly dead as well, fallen in that brutal battle for the Iron Throne. The creatures had quickly faded into legend, now nothing more than a tale to delight children — or terrify them, depending on who was telling the story and how the dragons were portrayed.

But even if the dragons were still alive, Ben never would have been given a chance to interact with one. House Organa had only the slightest trace of Targaryen blood, and Ben was certain that to a dragon, he’d appear to be just another ordinary human. There was no way it would allow him to touch it, much less ride it into battle.

“I would have liked to see a dragon one day,” Rey said softly, and Ben looked up. This was probably the first thing she’d ever said to him that wasn’t antagonistic.

“Why all this interest in my heritage?” he said. “Is it because you...had dreams about me?” He hated how embarrassed asking that made him feel, and he knew his cheeks were flushing bright red. Hopefully she’d just assume that was because he’d leaned too close to the fire.

“I’m sure the dreams were just a coincidence,” she said, though he could tell she didn’t really believe that.

“Supposedly the only people who can have visions are First Order priests,” Ben said. “That power isn’t supposed to be accessible to just anyone. I’m not saying I believe you actually have powers, but if you did, why? Why would an orphaned scavenger be given a touch of magic?” He studied her more carefully. “Do you know who your real parents are?”

“Ned and Catelyn Stark _are_ real parents to me,” she said proudly. “But if you mean the parents I was born to, no, I don’t.”

“Have you considered it’s possible that maybe your father had a mistress, perhaps a priestess of the First Order?” he asked. “He’d want to hide that fact, I’m sure, and it could explain—”

Rey’s eyes flashed angrily. “Ned has always been faithful to Catelyn! People say I’m his secret bastard, but I do not believe that. He took compassion on me because I was an orphan; why can’t people just accept that?”

Her eyes started filling with tears, and Ben felt a stab of guilt. He shouldn’t have pressed her, not when she’d shown him compassion by not asking about his father. “I just think you should consider that—”

Once again, Ben did not get to finish, but this time it wasn’t because Rey interrupted him.

He heard a twig snap in the distance, and he was instantly on his feet, pulling out his sword and turning to face whatever was coming. He shouldn’t have lit the bloody fire; his desperation (and growling stomach) had made him careless.

He’d been expecting bandits, and so he was shocked — but certainly not relieved — when a group of First Order warrior-priests stepped through the trees and surrounded their campsite.


	3. Duel in the Dark

Eight First Order warrior-priests materialized out of the shadows, forming a circle around the campfire. They were dressed in traditional white robes, and even though they carried tall walking sticks rather than swords, Ben was certain they were concealing weapons under their cloaks.

Ben hadn’t interacted much with the priests of this mysterious order. It was rumored that they dabbled in dark blood magic, and his mother had always believed their High Priest Snoke was more interested in political power than actual piety.

These eight priests all looked a great deal alike, with shaved heads and unnaturally pallid faces. As the wind caused their cloaks to billow out, Ben saw they were wearing the infamous red First Order armor underneath. The First Order priests always liked to present themselves as peaceful, benevolent scholars, but beneath their white cloaks, the red armor revealed what they really stood for: blood, suffering, and destruction.

“There is no need to be afraid; we are here on a peaceful mission,” one of the priests spoke (probably their leader). “My name is Praetorius. I am a priest of the First Order.”

“Yes — we gathered that,” Ben replied, not bothering to hide the snark in his tone. “You don’t see a lot of other travelers wandering through the woods wearing blindingly white robes.”

Praetorius smiled, but there was no amusement in his eyes. “You must be Ben Organa — or, as you are calling yourself these days, Kylo Ren of the Night’s Watch. We have been looking for you for several days; High Priest Snoke sent us to meet you and escort the prisoner to King’s Landing. Thank you for your service; you are now free to return to your duties at the Wall.”

Ben glanced over at Rey, trying to gauge how she was responding to this announcement and also attempting to hide his own sense of surprise. Though Rey was staring back at the First Order priests defiantly, he could clearly see the fear in her eyes. He couldn’t blame her; he was afraid too.

“I’m sorry, but the orders I was given by Lord Commander Canady — which supposedly came from King Armitage Baratheon himself — specified that I’m supposed to personally deliver Rey Snow to King’s Landing,” he said. “No one told me that I needed to meet a group of First Order priests halfway and transfer control of the prisoner to them. Are you sure I’m not supposed to go to King’s Landing with you?”

Praetorius hadn’t stopped smiling, and the effect was increasingly disconcerting. “I admire your dedication to following orders. We will be sure to tell the King how committed you were to this mission. Yet I can assure you that we are indeed authorized to take control of the prisoner. There are increasing reports of rebel fighters in this area, and Snoke fears they may be foolhardy enough to make a rescue attempt. You should return to the Wall while the roads are still safe to travel. Snoke releases you from your duties.”

_Snoke sent… Snoke fears… Snoke releases..._ Kylo considered Praetorius’s very particular choice of words, his suspicious rising rapidly.

“You keep saying Snoke sent you here to intercept the prisoner, but last time I checked, he’s still subservient to the King,” Ben countered. “I’ll say it again: the King gave me this mission directly, and unless bloody Armitage Baratheon himself appears in these woods and tells me to go back to the Wall, I’m taking Rey to King’s Landing myself.”

Finally, the smile disappeared from Praetorius’s face. “As you should already know, Snoke is authorized to act on behalf of the King in all matters of magical concern. It has come to our attention that this girl has been experiencing strange...visions. The King wants Snoke to monitor her to ensure that her newly manifesting powers pose no threat to the crown.”

“How in the Seven Kingdoms would Snoke know all that about Ned Stark’s bastard daughter?” Once again, Ben couldn’t stop his father’s brashness from slipping out. “Do you have proof any of this is real?”

“I’ve never had a ‘vision’ or channeled any kind of magic in my life,” Rey interjected, lying as if her life depended on it (because it probably did). “You just want to take me hostage and then use me as bait to lure the Starks out of Winterfell.”

Praetorius shook his head. “High Priest Snoke knows much and sees much. He began studying you, Rey Snow, from the moment you arrived in King’s Landing. You were supposed to be taken prisoner along with Sansa right after Ned Stark’s execution, but you disappeared. You cannot be allowed to roam free and use these powers unchecked.”

“You have no right to imprison me or my sister Sansa,” Rey fired back, full of righteous fury. “Even Ben Organa knows it’s wrong, though he won’t admit it.”

Ben flinched as he heard her use his real name, and deep in his gut he felt a gnawing sensation that just might be guilt.

“I’m doing exactly what the King wants by taking Rey Snow back to King’s Landing,” Ben insisted one more time, even though that queasy feeling of guilt just kept growing inside his stomach. “A member of the Night’s Watch never abandons a mission.”

Ben felt the shift almost immediately; up to this point, the priests had been trying to pretend that their motives were benign, yet now he could practically see the open hostility radiating off of them. All the priests except for Praetorius had reached inside their cloaks, and he saw flashes of metal, likely swords or knives.

“Your insistence is bordering on rebellion, Kylo Ren,” Praetorius said, a definite edge to his tone now. “We outrank you, and we are taking the prisoner. You can either accept that, and return to your post at the Wall, or we can take you captive too. Do you really want to be paraded through the streets of King’s Landing in utter disgrace? Both Lord Commander Canady and your traitorous mother would be ashamed, I think.”

Ben felt that familiar flare of anger deep in his chest, his temper smoldering. Praetorius had known exactly how deep that verbal barb would pierce him. The priest was trying to provoke a reaction, to give his men an excuse to start a fight; Ben was almost tempted to oblige him.

Ben realized he had only two choices now, and both would doom him. He could do as the First Order priests said, hand Rey over, and then ride back to the Wall. Maybe Praetorius was telling the truth, and the King had sent these priests to intercept them. However, Lord Commander Canady would still be furious that he hadn’t seen the mission through, and Ben had no idea what his punishment would be.

If Ben insisted on completing the mission himself, though, he would have to cut down all these priests, and then he’d have to explain to the King why he had killed eight members of the First Order, a crime punishable by death. Perhaps these priests were helping Snoke commit some kind of treason, acting outside of the King’s knowledge, but Ben would never know until he got to King’s Landing. And if he was wrong, the King would execute him.

_What will the priests do with Rey if I turn her over to them?_ he allowed himself to consider. He’d assumed Armitage would keep her locked in a tower with Sansa until the war was over, imprisoned but well fed and cared for. But if Rey was placed under Snoke’s control instead...he very well could be sending her to her death.

“I will not yield to you,” Rey proclaimed to the First Order warrior-priests as they stepped closer to the fire, narrowing the perimeter they’d created around the campsite. “I will fight you every step you force me to take towards King’s Landing. And as you drag me through the streets, I will shout about what monsters Hux and Snoke are. I will never forget what you did to my father, Ned Stark. He taught me to fight for what’s right, and I’ll die doing that if I have to. Even if Ben is too afraid to join me.”

Ben heard Praetorius’s guttural snarl as the priest’s eyes bored into him, pressuring him to make a decision. The priest was pretending to ignore Rey’s taunts, but Ben could tell how much they angered him. There had been an insult for Ben in there, as well, but instead of anger all he felt was shame. Did she really think of him as a coward? Didn’t she know he was just trying to fulfill his duty?

“Kylo Ren — you must yield,” Praetorius ordered. “Now.”

Ben was out of time. Any second now, Praetorius and his men would make a move for Rey. Ben was damned if he interfered, and damned if he didn’t.

Still, he knew what he had to do.

***

Rey knew she was making a dangerous gamble.

She could expect no mercy from the First Order priests, and if they captured her, she knew she’d never walk out of King’s Landing alive. High Priest Snoke knew about her strange visions, which she now realized had correctly predicted this very confrontation.

If she wanted to survive, she had to appeal to a man that minutes ago had been her enemy.

She hated having to publicly call Ben Organa a coward; it wasn’t something Ned would have done. But Rey had to do something to shock Ben out of his apathy, to find a way to reach that compassionate soul she knew was buried somewhere deep beneath the rage and the darkness and the guilt that festered inside him.

Ben Organa might have abandoned his House, and maybe he thought he was doing the right thing by following orders and taking her to King’s Landing. But once he’d seen the First Order priests, and the sinister intent in their eyes, he had to be questioning whether this was actually the right thing to do.

He pretended to be this hardened soldier who didn’t really care about anyone or anything, but she was pretty sure he cared about her, at least a little. Otherwise, he would have turned her over to the priests right away.

Yet as he continued to stare at the priests, slowly lowering his sword, her sense of panic began to take over. What if Ben decided that he really didn’t care enough to do something, and simply handed her over? She’d heard about the horrific experiments Snoke conducted in the catacombs beneath King’s Landing. What awful plans did he have for her? Then after he was all done, would Hux execute her just as he had her father?

Rey tried to be brave, but she was sure the priests could see just how terrified she was. This was it — it was over. Ben wasn’t going to do anything. They’d grab her, and torture her, and—

Ben moved so fast it took her several seconds to process what was happening. Like a shadow that suddenly came to life, he turned towards her, his black cape swirling around him as he shoved a knife into her hands, and then he turned back towards Praetorius and swung his sword in a rapid arc.

Praetorius’ head sailed off his shoulders, an expression of shock frozen on his face as his head hit the ground.

The other priests were so stunned it took them a moment to respond, and in that time Rey cut the ropes binding her hands together and grabbed her sword from where Ben had rested it on top of his pack of supplies.

Acting on instinct, she and Ben whirled around so that they were back-to-back as the priests charged at them, the priests’ shock now turning to rage as their training kicked in.

Four of the priests surrounded Ben and the other three targeted Rey, apparently assuming that as a member of the Night’s Watch Ben was a bigger threat. They’d clearly underestimated Rey, and one of the priests got too close and left her an opening for her to run her sword through his gut.

Ben also quickly downed two of the priests that were fighting him, cutting off their sword arms and then their heads.

The four surviving priests were livid now; obviously, this was not how they’d intended this encounter to go. Their overconfidence had made them careless at first, but now that Ben and Rey had both proven themselves to be deadly fighters, the priests were quickly adjusting their fighting strategy, forcing Rey and Ben to switch to defensive stances.

One of the priests engaged with Ben took a step back from the fight and slid his knife across his arm, splitting open the skin.

“Don’t let them use their magic!” Ben shouted to her, and Rey watched in surprise and horror as the priest stuck his bleeding arm into the fire. She didn’t know how dark blood magic worked, but she could already tell that something dangerous and unholy was happening here.

The priest lifted up his arm, which was now encased in flames that somehow didn’t seem to be burning his skin. He thrust out his hand and sent a blast of flame shooting towards Ben, and Ben barely managed to duck in time.

The flames slammed into the trunk of a nearby tree, instantly setting it on fire, and the air soon started filling with smoke. While the priest was recovering from his use of magic, Ben drove his sword into the man’s chest. The flames on his arm were immediately snuffed out.

However, the three remaining priests had now also cut their arms and were chanting strange words that Rey didn’t understand but still made her skin crawl. The flames in the campfire and the flames in the tree burned hotter and brighter, beginning to spread around the campsite. Rey realized that they were trying to trap her and Ben within a ring of fire; the priests’ power would protect them from the flames while they watched Rey and Ben burn to death.

Ben swore as he glanced around the clearing, either plotting his next plan of attack or trying to find a way to escape. Rey didn’t know exactly what she should do; she just knew she had to do something.

_I am not dying today,_ she told herself, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her pounding heart. They’d gotten rid of more than half the priests; they could face these three.

Deciding that now was not the time for caution, Rey rushed towards one of the chanting priests and swung her sword. He brought his own sword up just in time, blocking her blow. Gritting her teeth, Rey swung her sword again and again and again, forcing him to divide his attention between his chanting and her.

The tip of his sword grazed her arm, and Rey screamed in pain.

_Focus, focus!_ she commanded herself, trying to remember all that Robb had taught her in their sparring sessions. _Ignore the pain. Be fully present in this moment; don’t worry about the outcome._

The priest tried to stab her with his blade, but Rey danced around it, swinging around behind him. He avoided the next blow from her sword, but he couldn’t block the knife she simultaneously plunged into his thigh. He dropped to his knees, and she finished him off with her sword.

By now Ben had taken out the priest attacking him, but that left one priest unaccounted for. Rey glanced over just in time to see the final priest grab Ben from behind, wrapping his arm around Ben’s neck and starting to squeeze. Ben struggled, but he couldn’t bring his sword around to stop the priest.

“Ben!” Rey cried out. She caught his eye and flung her knife towards him. Fighting through the considerable pain he had to be experiencing (in addition to his current inability to breathe), Ben reached up and caught the knife. He stabbed the priest, who stumbled backwards into the fire. Without his spells to protect him, he was consumed by the flames.

After taking only a few seconds to catch his breath, Ben grabbed what supplies he could and then took Rey by the hand, pulling her through the narrow gap that remained between the flames encircling their former campsite. They ran for some distance, just in case the priests had backup stationed nearby. Neither of them had the energy for another battle.

Finally, they stumbled on a clearing that was far enough from both the road and their old campsite that they felt reasonably safe.

Ben immediately shut his eyes and sank to his knees, breathing hard. Rey collapsed next to him, wanting to pass out but instead forcing herself to examine the wound on her arm. It was still bleeding, but as long as she cleaned it and bandaged it, it would likely turn out to be little more than a minor inconvenience.

“Well, that was certainly an interesting turn of events,” Ben finally said after they’d had a moment to recover. He probably meant for the sarcasm to lighten the mood, but Rey was too stunned to laugh or even smile.

She was struggling to process everything that had happened; it almost seemed like a bad nightmare that she’d soon wake up from, and find herself back in the tent with Ben. She couldn’t believe that they’d actually fought off eight First Order warrior-priests...and that Ben had actually risked his life to help her.

“Congratulations, both of us are now wanted criminals and can never show our faces in King’s Landing again,” Ben went on after realizing that she wasn’t ready to speak yet. “Although I don’t think either of us were that eager to go there anyway.”

“You mean...you’re not taking me to Hux?” Rey asked. She’d hoped that when he decided to fight the priests, it also meant that he no longer planned to hand her over to the King. Still, she couldn’t be sure until she heard it from him; it was entirely possible he planned to continue this mission on his own.

“I can’t,” he said, in a tone filled with layers of emotions that were too complex for her to pick apart. “We killed eight First Order priests, and I’m now an enemy of the crown. And because I failed my mission, I’m an enemy of the Night’s Watch as well. We can’t go North, and we can’t go South.”

Rey felt a pang of disappointment; she’d been hoping to persuade him to take her to Winterfell, but perhaps he felt that was too close to the Wall.

“What about Alderaan?” she asked tentatively. “I’m sure your mother would—”

“No!”

He responded so harshly that Rey actually winced. “But you’re a member of House Organa, and by saving me, you’re a friend to House Stark. You’ll be a hero to the leaders of the rebellion—”

“I’m not going to Alderaan, and I’m not joining any kind of rebellion,” Ben snapped. “If you knew about everything that happened, you’d understand why I can’t go back.”

“Well, how can I understand if you won’t tell me?” Rey replied, her own temper rising. “What happened between you and your family?”

“Do you really want to know? I don’t think you do.”

Ben finally met her gaze, and she was stunned by the pain she saw filling his dark eyes. She could see that at least part of him was desperate to tell her, to be absolved of whatever sins he was carrying. But he was also afraid of revealing the secrets he kept; what sort of hidden shame was he bearing all alone?

Before she even realized what she was doing, she reached out and placed her hand on top of his. They both flinched at the unexpected contact, but neither of them pulled their hand away. She could feel every beat of her heart as they stared at each other, sharing a strange sort of communication that transcended mere words.

She felt a connection to this brooding boy that she couldn’t quite explain, and she could tell that he felt it too. Even though they’d spent most of their time together arguing, there was a bond between their souls, as if fate had brought them together for some purpose that was yet to be revealed.

“Rey, I…” Ben’s voice cracked, and she could feel his hand trembling. Even though the fire in the forest was now miles away, her face was hot and flushing bright red.

“What is it?” she asked. “What are—”

Rey couldn’t finish. Because at that moment, she felt her body begin to shake all over, and black spots danced in front of her eyes. It was happening again — a vision was coming, but this time the experience felt even more intense. She couldn’t move, and she suddenly found herself struggling to breathe.

She could hear Ben calling her name, but he sounded terribly far away. Even though she was probably looking right at him, she couldn’t see him anymore.

She tried to fight the sensation, unwilling to surrender completely to the blackness, but it was no use. The world began to spin madly around her, and then she lost consciousness, slipping into that strange world of dreams where she had no control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit belated, but I made a mood board for this story! https://www.flickr.com/photos/rey_knightofren/


	4. Visions in the Mist

In her mind, Rey saw an island shrouded in mist and surrounded by miles and miles of deep, blue-gray ocean. Few mortals had ever set foot on this island, and the ones who had dared to do so had never been seen or heard from again.

The island appeared to be a welcoming haven of green amidst the lonely, endless waters, but that appearance was deceiving. This was a strange and wild place, a nexus of ancient magic less dark but more untamed than the sort of magic wielded by the priests of the First Order. This was an island that contained many secrets that stretched back to the beginning of the world.

It was difficult to pick out landmarks through the fog, but at the center of the island grew a giant tree, as ancient as the island itself. Its gnarled branches bore no leaves, but the tree was not dead. In fact, it was alive in a way unlike any ordinary tree in Westeros. It was almost...sentient, as if it somehow had a mind and a will of its own, though not quite like a human’s. She had seen this tree before, in her earlier visions.

The tree was trying to speak to her, but she could not understand the words. As she looked closer, she saw that at the base of the tree there sat a man — the island’s lone inhabitant. His blond hair was turning gray, and he wore a weathered brown cloak. His legs were crossed and his eyes were closed as he meditated. He was trying to commune with the tree, though whether he was successful or not, she could not tell.

Then suddenly, his eyes flew open, and Rey felt as if he was looking right at her. It shouldn’t be possible, but she sensed that somehow he was seeing her in real life, not just in this vision. His lips turned upwards in the faintest hint of a smile, and he said, “Come find me, Rey No-Name. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Who are you?” Rey asked, but he didn’t seem to hear.

Without breaking eye contact, he threw off his cape and transformed into a raven — not a common raven like the kind that were used to transport messages across Westeros, but some unusual version with three eyes — and flew straight towards her.

Rey screamed and flung up her hands to protect herself, but before the bird reached her, it disappeared. Her vision faded to black, and she felt as though she was falling down a long, dark hole. Just when she thought this nightmare might have no end, she hit the “ground” and woke up.

***

When Rey regained consciousness, she found herself lying on her back in the clearing, staring up at the starry night sky.

Ben was kneeling over her, his eyes wide with fear and concern. “Are you...are you all right?” She could tell that she’d given him a fright, and quite frankly, she was still a little shaken herself.

“I think so,” she said, cautiously sitting up. She felt a little lightheaded, but her sense of disorientation was fading. “I’ve never had a vision quite like that before.”

“I’m sorry I was skeptical at first — that I doubted your visions were real,” he said. His tone was surprisingly humble; gone was the undertone of self-righteous arrogance. It was an unexpectedly genuine apology.

“I...I saw an island,” she told him, attempting to describe what she’d seen. “There was an ocean, and a magical tree, and…and...”

“I know.”

She glanced over at Ben in confusion. “What do you mean, ‘I know’?”

“When you lost consciousness, I caught you — to keep you from hitting your head on the ground,” Ben explained, his face flushing with embarrassment. “And when we touched, I...I guess I don’t know how to really describe it, but I started having a vision too. Like I could see everything you were seeing, but only when we were touching.”

Rey didn’t know how to respond to that. Part of her was relieved that she finally had someone to share these strange experiences with; previously, everyone had thought she was crazy when she tried to describe her visions. However, the thought of Ben being able to see inside her mind made her feel more than a little awkward. Had he seen any of her other thoughts, or only the vision?

“Did you understand any of it, then?” she asked instead, shifting uncomfortably. “I never get any context for these visions, just flashes of people and places. It doesn’t become clear until later, like when I saw visions of you and the First Order priests.”

“I don’t know why you were shown all that, but I do know what you saw,” Ben said quietly, not quite able to look her in the eyes. “I wish I didn’t, but I do.

“The island is called Ahch-To; it’s one of the Iron Islands, and everyone is afraid to go there because it’s supposedly cursed. Apparently even Snoke is afraid of the ancient power there. The bird you saw is the Three-Eyed Raven. As the legend goes, it’s the last of the greenseers, powerful sorcerers who can view the past, the present, and the future, all at the same time. The Last Greenseer cannot leave the island as a mortal being, but can transform into the raven and fly anywhere in Westeros.”

Well, _that_ was a lot to take in. Apparently Leia Organa had taught her son more about the ancient legends than Ned Stark has chosen to teach his children (or perhaps Ned had never heard these stories himself). Only one question remained to her, and she had a feeling the answer would help unlock the meaning of the vision. She also had a feeling Ben knew this answer but was hesitant to tell her.

“Who was that man, though — the one who became the Three-Eyed Raven?” She paused. “You know him, don’t you?”

Ben slowly nodded, the admission seeming to be strangely painful for him. “I don’t know how the devil he became the Three-Eyed Raven, but that man is my uncle Luke.”

Rey hadn’t thought he could reveal anything more shocking than the existence of a seer who could see into the future and transform into a raven, but it turned out she was wrong.

“Your uncle?” she asked, staring at him suspiciously. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, of course I know my own uncle when I see him,” Ben snapped. “Like I said, I don’t know how or why he visited the island and somehow transformed into the Three-Eyed Raven, but that was definitely him. I guess this is where he disappeared to after my father…” He didn’t finish, but Rey knew that he was referring to his father’s death.

“Even when he was Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, he was interested in mystical stuff,” Ben said. “When he left he said he was going on some quest, but he wouldn’t tell us what it was about. My question is, why would he suddenly try to make contact now, through you?”

“Well, I think if we want to find out, we have to go to him,” Rey replied, and when she saw Ben’s skeptical expression, she quickly added, “Believe me, all I really want to do is go back home to Winterfell, but I don’t think this is a vision I can ignore. It’s not dark magic, like the kind we saw the First Order priests using tonight, but I don’t think it would be safe to dismiss something this direct. Maybe if I go to the island and talk with your uncle, or the Three-Eyed Raven, or whatever he bloody is, the visions will stop and I can finally have some peace.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Ben said, and Rey bit her lip, trying to hold back her temper.

“You don’t have to come with me, but I am going to that island. You already said it was too dangerous to go near Winterfell or King’s Landing, so why not come with me? Both Lord Commander Canady and Hux are going to be sending people out to look for you soon. I can’t think of a place to hide that’s more remote that Ahch-To.”

Ben stared down at the ground, sitting in silence for an agonizingly long moment as he considered her words. He had to know that she was right; she couldn’t ignore the call to Ahch-To, and based on the fact that he’d been allowed to share in her vision, he was destined to go there with her. This was why fate had brought them together — whether they liked it or not.

“I guess I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” Ben finally said, his tone resigned. “We’ll have to be very careful, and stay off the main roads as much as possible. Since my mother is the leader of a major rebellion, I’m not exactly a low-profile fugitive. However, I do have a contact at a port town who knows the Iron Islands well and can probably be persuaded to let us hitch a ride on his ship. I don’t have enough money to pay our way — and I’m guessing you don’t either — but I’m pretty sure he owes me a favor that I can call in.”

Rey nodded. “Then it’s settled.” She didn’t exactly feel relieved, but she did draw some comfort from the certainty that came from having an actual plan to follow. She wished there was some way she could get a message to Winterfell, to let her family know where she was going, but hopefully they’d hear the news about her and Ben fighting off the First Order priests and would know that she was all right.

_At least for now,_ she reminded herself, as she thought of the journey ahead and the dangers they had yet to face.

***

Ben and Rey began the long journey to the coast, traveling on foot since Ben’s horse had disappeared into the forest when the First Order priests attacked. He was angry about that — the horse had been a gift from his parents on his 16th birthday. Even though he claimed that he’d cut all ties to his home when he joined the Night’s Watch, the horse (named Phoenix, after House Organa’s crest) had been an important reminder of his connection to his parents. And now that that was gone he felt a hollow emptiness in his chest. He knew that Phoenix would make her way back to Alderaan; she’d already tried to escape and run back there several times. As if she was trying to tell Ben that she didn’t belong at the Wall, and he didn’t belong there either.

Ben didn’t say much to Rey as they hiked through Westeros, not really trusting himself to speak. He was still haunted by guilt over the fact that he’d ever considered accepting the mission to take Rey to King’s Landing. Lord Commander Canady was wrong to ask it of him in the first place, but he was still at fault for just following the orders blindly. He’d left House Organa because he didn’t want to be just a pawn in his mother’s rebellion, and now look at him; he had almost become “just a pawn” of the King instead.

He also couldn’t admit how conflicted he was over his feelings for Rey herself. He couldn’t forget what had been unlocked inside him when she touched his hand as they sat in the clearing after fighting the priests. Then they’d shared a vision, a deeply magical and intimate experience, and he could no longer deny that some force had drawn them — specifically them — together. And that thought terrified him.

Joining the Night’s Watch was supposed to end his desire for these sorts of connections, but he’d excommunicated himself the minute he’d turned on the First Order priests. Technically he was free from the vow that he’d made, but he definitely didn’t feel free. The ghosts of his past — his parents, his uncle, and now also his forsaken promise to the Night’s Watch — continued to haunt him.

The only thing he could do was keep all these messy feelings buried deep inside him, hidden away where no one, not even Rey, could see. The two of them continued to bicker, and he didn’t try to stop it because it was easier to argue than admit what he was really feeling.

Both of them were in a grumpy mood by the time they finally arrived at the port town of Takodana days later. Even though it was close to nightfall, Takodana was still a lively place; they could hear loud music and laughter coming from the many taverns lining the streets. Several large ships had docked at the port earlier today, and the sailors had flooded into town, ready for an evening of drinking, dancing, and rowdy fun.

To avoid the crowds, Ben led Rey through the town’s complex maze of back alleyways, until they arrived at a somewhat rundown pub called “The Falcon’s Nest.” Although the paint was peeling from the sides of the building, Ben could see a roaring fire in the fireplace and he heard the pub’s patrons singing a rousing rendition of “The Maiden and the Dragon.” Apparently everyone here was having a _very_ good time.

“All right, it looks like my contact is here tonight, right on schedule,” Ben told Ren in a low voice as they stood in the shadows, peering through the windows into the pub. “It looks like pretty much everybody in there is in a good mood, but don’t let that fool you. Takodana caters to a pretty rough crowd, and it doesn’t take much to start a fight. And whatever you do, don’t stare.”

“At what?” Rey asked.

He shook his head. “Any of it.”

No one really paid attention as the two of them entered the pub, except for one woman who saw his uniform and made a joke about the Night’s Watch. Although his temper flared, he made himself ignore it. He could swallow his pride and tolerate an insult or two; the two of them definitely couldn’t afford to cause a scene.

He headed towards the loudest table at the back of the pub and walked right up to the dark-haired man who was sitting at the head of the table and leading the final verse of “The Maiden and the Dragon.” The man was wearing a bright red tunic with gold trim that would have been gaudy on most anyone else, but he had the confidence and the good looks to pull it off.

As soon as he saw Ben and Rey, he stopped singing, and everyone at the table turned to stare at them. For one painfully long moment, Ben thought that the other man might not recognize him, and if that was the case, he and Rey were about to be in deep, deep trouble.

But then the man’s eyes lit up, he jumped to his feet, and he clapped Ben on the back so hard that Ben almost fell over.

“Ben Organa! I never thought I’d see you again!” the man exclaimed, his eyes sparkling as he laughed. “How is life in the Night’s Watch these days? Never mind, don’t tell me; the answer is probably boring.”

Ben clenched and unclenched his fists, but he kept his face neutral. _Don’t let him get to you,_ he commanded himself.

“Rey, this is Captain Poe Dameron,” he said. “I worked with him on a mission once for the Night’s Watch. He’s also an old friend of my mother’s.”

“It’s good to meet you, Rey,” Poe said, shaking her hand vigorously and then clapping her soundly on the back, just as he’d done with Ben. “I’m either a notorious smuggler, a legendary freedom fighter, or the greatest pirate in Westeros, depending on who you ask.” He winked, and Ben had to fight not to roll his eyes. They didn’t have time for this.

“We need to go to the Iron Islands,” Ben said. “Specifically Ahch-To. Can you take us?”

All chatter at the table immediately ceased, and the grin disappeared from Poe’s face. “Why in the Seven Kingdoms would you want to go to that cursed place?” he asked incredulously. “I can take you anywhere else in the Iron Islands, no problem. Is your mother sending you on some kind of secret mission or—”

“I’m not involved in my mother’s rebellion,” Ben said, cutting him off. “And our reason for going to Ahch-To isn’t your business.”

“Actually, it kinda is, if you expect me to take you there and put my crew at risk,” Poe fired back, and several people at the table murmured their agreement. “It better be a pretty good reason, or you’d better be paying me really well.”

“Look, I’m not expecting you to actually set foot on Ahch-To, if you’re worried about ghosts, or monsters, or whatever you think is haunting that place,” Ben said. “Just drop us off. You know you owe me a favor, and I’ll even give you a little money for your trouble; it’s not much, but it’s all I have left.” He took out his coin pouch and dropped it on the table as confidently as possible, hoping it — along with the reminder about the favor — would be enough to persuade Poe.

Everyone at the table watched Poe in silence, anxiously waiting to see what he would do. Slowly, the pirate captain picked up the pouch, evaluating its size and weight.

“Normally, I’d say this wasn’t enough to motivate me to sail to a place like Ahch-To, even if I supposedly do owe you a favor,” he said coolly. “But for your mother’s sake...I’ll do it. You may be trying to distance yourself from House Organa, but I won’t forget everything Leia has done for me. Since you’re her son, I’ll help you, in the hopes that maybe it will knock some sense into you and you’ll make peace with your mother.”

_There’s not much chance in that happening,_ Ben thought, but there was no point in saying it out loud.

“It looks like we have a bargain,” Ben said, and Poe’s smile returned.

“I’d say so.”

He shook both Rey and Ben’s hands, just to seal the deal, and then he made his crew grab two additional chairs so Rey and Ben could join them at the table. Someone passed them some food, and soon the pirates were all chatting and laughing with Rey as if they’d known her for years.

Ben watched, a little enviously, at how quickly Rey fit into the group. She could make friends far faster than he could; in fact, one man had already declared that he would die protecting her if he had to. Ben was pretty sure everyone knew who she really was, but nobody mentioned it.

Even before he’d left House Organa, Ben had struggled to feel that kind of camaraderie. He hadn’t found it in the Night’s Watch, either. And even though he and Rey currently shared some sort of strange bond, thanks to her visions, he couldn’t count on that to last forever. After Ahch-To, they’d probably have to go their separate ways, and he was just now beginning to realize the grief he’d feel when that happened.


	5. Secrets in the Past

Rey leaned against the railing of Poe Dameron’s ship, shutting her eyes and relishing the feeling of the cool sea breeze on her face.

She’d never been sailing on a large ship before, and the experience was absolutely glorious. She loved everything about it, even the little details, like the billowing white sails and the way the wooden boards creaked beneath her feet. She’d spent hours standing on the deck, silently gazing out across the seemingly infinite ocean waters that stretched to the horizon and beyond. She hadn’t felt this free — or this safe — since she first left Winterfell with Ned and Sansa Stark.

She knew that technically, she wasn’t actually safe; she was still one of the most wanted fugitives in Westeros. But out here on the open waters, she was beyond the reaches of Hux and High Priest Snoke, at least for now. She could fall asleep in her hammock below decks every night and not have to worry about priests coming to kidnap her.

As for poor Ben, he didn’t seem to be enjoying life at sea as much as she was. He’d been feeling seasick since the moment the ship pulled away from Takodana, and it seemed like he had to excuse himself every couple of hours to vomit. However, he hadn’t complained about his seasickness even once, preferring to suffer in stoic silence.

Since he couldn’t seem to stomach much of the food Poe had brought for the voyage (mostly dried meat and extremely hard bread), Rey would make him a cup of broth every night, using a recipe she’d learned from one of the cooks at Winterfell. It didn’t taste very good, due to the fact that she had a limited selection of ingredients, but Ben seemed appreciative of the gesture, and he always thanked her and let her know how much it meant to him.

Rey wished she could figure Ben out; sometimes he was argumentative and sarcastic, and he seemed to know exactly what to say to ignite her temper. But then, in moments like the ones where she brought him a cup of broth, she could see his more vulnerable, softer side.

She was starting to think that maybe he used his prickly reputation as a shield; he didn’t want people to like him or get close to him, so that he couldn’t be hurt by them. Maybe deep down, he was desperately lonely, and he didn’t know how to admit that. She wished he would open up, and share more about the painful memories she knew were haunting him. Perhaps then she could help him—

“Enjoying the view, Lady Stark?”

Rey jumped, the unexpected voice startling her from her thoughts. She looked over and saw Poe Dameron leaning against the railing next to her, smiling roguishly.

“Yes — very much,” she said, embarrassed that she’d been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed him at first (especially since the thoughts she’d been so lost in had been focused on Ben Organa). “And thank you for calling me ‘Lady Stark’ instead of ‘Lady Snow.’ Not many people in Westeros do that, and it means a lot.”

“Ned Stark was a good man, and I know he considered you to be his daughter, just as much as Sansa and Arya were,” Poe said. “I’ve never liked the way that Westerosi seem so obsessed with titles and family names, and what House people belong to; you don’t have to be born a Stark to think of them as your family.”

Tears welled in Rey’s eyes as she thought of what a wonderful home Winterfell had been for her. “I miss them so much,” she said softly. “I don’t even know if I’ll ever see them again.”

“You will,” Poe said with such confidence and determination that Rey felt her spirits lift, at least a little. “The walls of Winterfell won’t fall to Hux’s troops. The North won’t let that happen, and neither will House Organa. Leia never abandons a friend or gives up on a cause. She won’t even give up on her son, despite the fact that he renounced all his ties to House Organa.”

“Do you know what happened?” Rey asked, but Poe shook his head.

“I’d tell you if I did, but apparently it’s a private family matter. Ben doesn’t seem to want to share that particular secret, and Leia won’t betray her son’s trust.” Poe studied Rey a little more carefully. “I’m a little surprised he hasn’t told you, though — you’re the only person he seems to like or actually want to talk to. If he were to tell anyone the truth about what happened, it would probably be you.”

Rey’s cheeks reddened. “I don’t know about that,” she said, pretending to be very focused on watching the waves lapping against the side of the ship.

Poe smirked. “I can tell how he feels about you, and I think you might have feelings for him too. I’ve seen the way you two stare at each other when you think the other one isn’t looking.”

“Me? Have feelings for Ben?” Rey spluttered, gripping the railing a little tighter. “Why would you think that? I mean, he kidnapped me and was going to hand me over to Hux and Snoke!”

Poe’s expression grew more serious. “Believe me, that boy has a lot to atone for, and he owes you a bloody good apology. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable by bringing it up; what you feel — or don’t feel — for him is your own business. He and I are never going to be the best of friends, but I think there’s more good inside him than he’s willing to admit. And I think he’d fight his way through an entire army of First Order warrior-priests if that’s what he had to do to save you.”

Rey didn’t quite know how to reply to that, and so she returned to gazing at the horizon, watching as the sun began its descent into twilight. Poe eventually left, sensing she wanted to be alone with her thoughts again.

_“I think you might have feelings for him too…”_

Was Poe just trying to tease her, or had he seen something she wasn’t even ready to admit to herself? She thought again of how Ben had turned on Praetorius and the other First Order priests, breaking his vow to the Night’s Watch so that he could help her.

_“I think he’d fight his way through an entire army of First Order warrior-priests if that’s what he had to do to save you...”_

Rey realized that she believed that, and she wasn’t sure how that made her feel. Would she be willing to do the same for him?

Maybe it wouldn’t make sense to anyone else, but she realized the answer was “yes.”

***

Ben thought he’d feel relief when they reached Ahch-To and he could finally get off this blasted ship.

He’d felt seasick pretty much every moment of the journey, and he was tired of having to empty the contents of his stomach into the bucket he had to constantly keep by his side. He couldn’t wait to return to solid ground once again.

Yet as soon as he and Rey stepped onto the shore of the island, he felt a sense of uneasiness settle on him. He’d never been a superstitious person, but even he had to admit that there seemed to be some truth to the tales about Ahch-To. There was an aura of unearthly power surrounding this place; he could sense the strange magic all around them, permeating every rock and plant.

Poe had promised to return for them in one day’s time. He hadn’t wanted to keep the ship anchored near the island, since being so close to Ahch-To apparently made his crew feel nervous. “But I’ll be back soon!” he’d assured them, and Ben mostly believed him, even though as he and Rey watched the ship disappear into the mist he found himself wondering if they’d ever see Poe again.

Well, if the pirate captain got skittish and decided to maroon them, there was nothing they could do about it. He and Rey were on their own now, and all they could do was go forward, try to find his uncle, and hope Poe and his crew would be there waiting for them when they returned.

Rey wasn’t sure exactly where the tree from her visions was located, other than that it was somewhere near the center of the island, and so they simply started making their way inland, hoping to run across it.

The hike uphill was somewhat difficult, due to the rocky ground and the fog that made it difficult to see more than a few feet in front of them. Every once in a while, they’d hear stirring in the underbrush and faint whispers that he chose to believe were just a trick of the wind, rather than some sort of ghostly presence that was trying to communicate with them.

Finally, Rey spotted a dark, gnarled shape looming in the mist, and as they cautiously walked closer, they found the tree from Rey’s visions towering above them. His uncle Luke was nowhere in sight.

“Hello?” Rey called out, and a cool breeze suddenly swept past them, causing Ben’s skin to crawl. There was definitely some sort of uncanny magic at work here. Ben felt panic rising within him, and he was tempted to start running back towards the shore. Perhaps they shouldn’t be messing with ancient powers they didn’t understand and couldn’t control.

Yet before he could voice his concerns to Rey, he heard a loud screech, and then a raven flew right above their heads, startling both of them. There was a flash of bright light, and then in the raven’s place his uncle appeared, sitting cross-legged at the base of the tree.

“It certainly took you long enough to get here,” Luke said wryly, and Ben felt himself bristle. He wasn’t sure exactly how he’d been expecting his reunion with his uncle to go, but he certainly wasn’t in the mood to be harassed.

“Well, we’re here now, so why don’t you tell us why you wanted us to come to Ahch-To so badly?” Ben asked. “And maybe you’d also like to explain exactly how you came to be the Three-Eyed Raven?”

“My journey to Ahch-To took a number of unexpected turns,” Luke said. “Just like your own journey here, as I understand it. I suppose you do have a right to demand some answers, and I hope I can supply them. Whether you find them satisfying or not...well, you’ll have to determine that for yourself.”

“Are you responsible for all my visions, and the voices I’ve been hearing in my head?” Rey asked, and Luke nodded.

“But why?” Rey continued. “Why me, why an...an orphaned scavenger from a land with no name? Why didn’t you speak directly to your nephew?”

“Because I didn’t think he was ready to listen,” Luke said bluntly. “Fate needs both of you, for the great battle to come, but you had to answer the call first. Only you could persuade Ben Organa to join this cause.”

“This is all very vague and mystical,” Ben cut in, “and I’d prefer to hear some straight answers. Let’s start with why you left the Night’s Watch, and how you got here.”

Luke closed his eyes and sighed, as if disappointed in Ben’s impatience. But he still complied with Ben’s request, and started at the beginning.

“I joined the Night’s Watch because I thought it could help atone for my father Anakin’s sins,” Luke explained. “I didn’t want our family to be known for serving the darkness, and so I vowed to spend my life protecting Westeros from the dangers beyond the Wall.

“However, it did not take me long to learn that both the monarchy of the Seven Kingdoms and the Night’s Watch were corrupt, and neither were doing enough to protect Westeros from the coming darkness.”

“And what is this ‘coming darkness’?” Rey asked, and Luke turned towards her, his expression grave.

“There are many rumors about what dwells beyond the Wall,” he said. “One day I took it upon myself to actually venture into the Unknown Regions, and see for myself what threats might be lurking there. And, it was more terrifying than I could possibly imagine.

“Long ago, the land beyond the Wall was populated by a group of people known as the ‘Wildlings,’ a derogatory term given to them by the Westerosi. The Wildlings were isolated and were unjustly treated as ‘lesser than’ by the people of Westeros. Sadly, there was no one to protect them when the army of the dead arose.”

“The army of the what?” Ben asked incredulously, not understanding what his uncle was saying.

“There is a mysterious necromancer in the Unknown Regions known as the ‘Night King,’” Luke said. “He turns the dead into mindless soldiers that only he can control. His army killed all the ‘Wildlings’ and turned them into more of his soldiers. The Night’s Watch could have prevented this, could have done something to try to help the innocent people, but no one seemed to care.

“I couldn’t serve an organization like that, and so I resigned from my post. Then the previous Three-Eyed Raven appeared to me, and offered me the atonement I was so desperately seeking. You see, he was dying, and he needed to appoint a new greenseer to succeed him. He said he would give me powers that would allow me to see the past, present, and future of Westeros and would help me bring the people true freedom, from both the Night King and the tyranny of the Iron Throne.

“My sister Leia has already begun the fight, as you well know. She is leading a rebellion against Armitage Baratheon, but she needs to be warned about the coming threat of the Night King. Both opponents will need to be defeated, and it will take all the Houses of Westeros banding together to accomplish this.”

He paused, and stared at Rey and Ben so intensely that they eventually had to avert their eyes, both of them growing uncomfortable.

“Now, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t just contact my sister directly, instead of going through the two of you. But you should know, Rey, that the Three-Eyed Raven cannot communicate with everyone as I communicated with you. Not all can channel this power, and you are one of the few living in Westeros who can.”

“But why me?” Rey insisted, frustration filling her voice. “I know I keep asking that question, but I truly want to understand. Why was I chosen for this, out of all the people in Westeros? Does this have anything to do with my parents?” Ben saw the sudden pain in her eyes. “Who are they — really? Why don’t I remember them?”

Even Luke noticed how hard it was for Rey to talk about her past, and his tone became gentler as he continued. “When Ned Stark found you in the desert, your parents had abandoned you. They tried to sell you into slavery, for drinking money, but no one would take you. So, they simply left you, alone in the endless sea of sand, and Ned heard you crying and took pity on you.”

Tears started streaming down Rey’s cheeks, and as Ben watched her, he felt his own heart shattering. She’d probably suspected all this, but perhaps some part of her had held onto the hope that the truth about her past wasn’t quite so grim. This was probably worse for her to hear than if she’d secretly been Ned’s bastard the whole time.

“You are a nobody,” Luke told Rey. “At least, that’s how most of the great Houses of Westeros would see you. But you, Rey No-Name, are more important than all of them. Together, you and Ben Organa will save Westeros. I wish I could tell you exactly how this will happen, but some details of the future I must keep hidden, and allow fate to run its course.”

Rey wiped the tears from her eyes, and despite her grief, she was already nodding in agreement.

“If Ned Stark gave his life for Leia’s rebellion, I can’t let him die in vain,” she said. “He’s the closest thing I’ll ever have to a father, and the Starks _are_ my family. I’ll join the fight against Hux and the Night King.”

She glanced over at Ben, as if expecting him to immediately jump in and also express his support for the cause. However, all Ben could do was just stare at her blankly; it was all too much to take in, and he was having trouble grasping the scope of what his uncle was asking them to do. Luke really expected them to not only join a rebellion, but also to fight some kind of necromancer and an army of the dead? He didn’t want to accept this grandiose destiny; all he’d wanted to do was join the Night’s Watch, and let everyone in Westeros forget who and what he was.

When Rey realized he wasn’t going to speak up, her expression turned to one of disappointment, and she turned away from him, unwilling to keep looking him in the eyes. He knew she would have words for him later, but right now she was focused on the details of the mission Luke had given them.

“There is one directive I can give you,” Luke said, and while he was obviously speaking to Rey, he looked at Ben, as if staring at him would pressure him into “submitting to his destiny.” “Hux’s army marches North to Winterfell, and Winterfell is also where the Night King will go after he breaches the Wall. You must travel to Winterfell as well, but first you should stop at Riverrun. The Lady Amilyn Tyrell of Highgarden will rendezvous with you at the castle there. She also is a friend to House Organa, and she is mustering her troops. They can escort you safely to Winterfell.

“But, you must hurry. Not many days remain to us before the Night King crosses the border into Westeros. I will send out the Three-Eyed Raven and call back the pirate captain to escort you.”

“Uncle Luke, what about—”

Ben thought he would have more time to ask questions, but Luke was already standing to his feet and casting off his cloak, preparing for the transformation.

“Don’t forget your family, Ben, and don’t forget the blood that runs in your veins,” Luke said to him sternly. “Not just the blood of House Organa, but also of House Targaryen. You can command an ancient power, and you’ll have need of that before the end.”

Then with another flash of light, Luke became a raven and took to the skies, disappearing into the mist.

Ben also assumed he would have a little time to brace himself before Rey hit him with the full force of her frustration, but it turned out he was wrong about that too.

As soon as Luke was gone, she whirled around, her eyes flashing with an angry passion that both terrified and transfixed him.

“Don’t you dare tell me that even after all that, you’re still not willing to go to Winterfell,” she said. “The entire future of Westeros is at stake! If we don’t do something, everyone is going to die.”

“But I can’t — I keep saying that, and no one seems to listen!” Ben threw up his hands. “There’s no place for me in my mother’s rebellion. She doesn’t want to see me again.”

“I refuse to believe that,” Rey snapped, taking a step closer to him. “I just can’t understand what’s keeping you away. Why won’t you tell me what happened?”

“Because I’m afraid!”

Ben hadn’t meant to say that aloud, but in the heat of the moment, when his emotions were running high, the words popped out before he could even think about shutting his mouth.

Rey gaped at him in surprise, apparently not expecting him to give her so honest an answer. And now that he’d started speaking, he found he couldn’t stop, the confession pouring out of him like blood gushing from a wound.

“I’m afraid that if I tell you the truth, you’ll hate me,” Ben said, forcing himself to meet her gaze. “Just like my mother. I know she says she doesn’t hate me, but how can she not after what happened? I know I definitely hate myself.”

Rey took another step towards him, the anger in her eyes beginning to be replaced by pity. Somehow, this made Ben feel even worse.

“Ben.” Her voice was both soft and earnest. “Please tell me the truth. I can’t help you if I don’t understand.”

Ben stared back at her, and took in a deep, shuddering breath. He couldn’t bear the thought of telling her, but he was also tired — tired of running and hiding and keeping everything locked inside him.

And so, starting at the very beginning, he told her everything. 


	6. Betrayal in the Capital

“Most people would probably say that I had a privileged upbringing.”

Ben felt he had to start by acknowledging that.

“My mother was the head of House Organa. I lived in a castle and had everything I could ever want. I knew I was going to inherit wealth and power. So, why was I unhappy?

“The truth is, I wasn’t at first. I was actually known for being a smiling, happy child — though I know you probably find that hard to believe. It wasn’t until I got older that I started to feel...inadequate. Socializing didn’t come as naturally to me as it did to my mother. I couldn’t influence or command people like she could. I began to realize that people had very high expectations of me, and I couldn’t live up to them.

“I wasn’t meant to be a leader, but as the heir to House Organa, I was expected to be one anyway. I’d watch some of the other boys my age at court, like Jaime Lannister, and I was so envious. I wanted to be confident and popular like he was.

“Also, people would never say this to my mother’s face, but some of the other members of the nobility looked down on her — and me — because of who my father was.

“My father, Han, was a ‘Snow.’ He wasn’t a noble, and no one knew who his parents were. My mother didn’t care; she fell in love with him anyway, and though her advisers told her not to, she married him.

“I think my father thought I hated him because he didn’t have a noble background, but that wasn’t true. I loved him, but I...I was sometimes a little ashamed of him.”

He saw the judgement in Rey’s eyes and knew he deserved it.

“I know that’s awful — believe me, I’ll forever hate myself for having those feelings. I wanted to have a noble, powerful father — again, like Jaime Lannister did — so that other people wouldn’t look down on me. I shouldn’t have cared what they thought, but I did.

“My parents never directly told me they were starting a rebellion against the Baratheons; I think they didn’t want to worry me. But I put the pieces together on my own, and I didn’t approve.”

“So you were all right with leaving a cruel tyrant on the Iron Throne?” Rey asked coldly, folding her arms across her chest. “Because I’m pretty sure my father Ned was the most loyal man in Westeros, and even he thought Hux deserved to be rebelled against.”

“No, I…” Ben didn’t know what to say. He wanted to lie, and invent some reason that would make him look like less of a fool or a coward, but he also knew that if Rey found out he wasn’t telling the truth, he would ruin any chance he’d ever have of winning back her trust. He’d have to tell the complete and ugly truth, however painful that might be for him.

“I was just afraid,” he confessed, and though Rey’s expression didn’t change much, he thought he saw the faintest flicker of compassion from her. “I didn’t want change, and I didn’t want war. I decided the best thing for me to do was neither stop them nor help them, and hope it all just blew over soon.

“When my father died, he was on a secret assignment from my mother to steal Snoke’s magical sword. She thought having an artifact like that might help the rebellion counteract the First Order’s magic. My father left for King’s Landing, and was supposed to wait to receive final word from her on whether or not to proceed with the mission.

“One night after my father left, my mother asked me for the first and only time help with the rebellion. She didn’t want to ask me and put me in danger, but she needed me to send a message via raven. I can’t remember the reason why she couldn’t do it herself, but it was probably because she was being watched and couldn’t afford for the message to be intercepted.

“She told me not to read the message; I did anyway. She’d uncovered some new bit of information regarding the mission she’d sent my father on, some background detail she thought he needed to know before trying to steal the sword.

“I stood for a long time outside the aviary, debating what to do, and in the end I decided not to send the message. I thought if I didn’t send the raven, my father would assume the mission was canceled and he would come home.

“That’s what he should have done, actually, but that’s not the kind of man my father was. When he didn’t hear from my mother, he went ahead with the mission anyway, and he ended up walking into a trap.”

Ben’s voice cracked, and he couldn’t stop the tears from welling in his eyes. “If I’d sent that bloody message like my mother wanted, the additional information might have helped to save my father’s life. My mother told me again and again that it wasn’t my fault, but I know the truth. I killed my father.”

Rey was silent, as if too stunned by his confession to speak. She didn’t try to rebuke him or comfort him; she just kept staring at him, her eyes full of sorrow and what he thought was probably disappointment.

Finally, he could bear the silence no longer, and so he went on, finishing his story.

“My mother never told another soul about what I’d done. She lied and said that something had happened to the raven while it was flying to King’s Landing and the message had never reached my father; she didn’t want other people blaming me. But still, it was obvious that I couldn’t stay. After what I’d done, there was no place for me in House Organa.

“I felt like the only option left to me was to join the Night’s Watch. I belonged at the Wall, in that miserable, dark place, where my mother wouldn’t have to see me every day and be reminded about what happened. I didn’t care that joining the Watch meant renouncing my title or taking a vow of celibacy. I didn’t deserve connections — of any kind. But apparently I couldn’t even serve the Night’s Watch effectively, and now I’m here, a fugitive and a criminal.”

Silence fell again, and Ben wished he could either disappear into the mist or steal his uncle’s powers and turn into a bird, flying far, far away from here. He’d never been this honest or raw with another person before, and he felt incredibly exposed, now that Rey could see him for who he really was. He wouldn’t blame her if she simply turned around and left him here, walking back to the shore and waiting for Poe alone. Maybe it would be better if he was just marooned on this island.

But Rey didn’t leave him; instead, she continued to study him, her expression impossible to read.

“Is that all of it?” she finally asked, her voice quiet. “Have you really told me everything, and is all of it true?”

Ben nodded. “Yes. You know everything now, even more than my mother, actually. You know my greatest failure, and my greatest shame. I’ll leave you alone now, if that’s what you need or—”

“Don’t you dare go, Ben.” Rey took a step forward and grabbed his hand, preventing him from turning away. He looked down at her in surprise; he assumed she’d want to push him away after all that.

“You’re right — you did make a mistake,” she said bluntly but not cruelly. “But, that doesn’t mean you should be condemned forever. You did the wrong thing, but it was without malicious intent, and I know that if your father was standing here right now, he’d forgive you, just as your mother already did.” She looked up into his eyes, gripping his hand even tighter. Her touch made him shiver, and think thoughts that he wasn’t ready to face.

“You’ve had to carry this burden for a long time alone, and now I think it’s time to let it go,” Rey said. “You’re a good man, Ben Organa, whether you can see it or not, and I believe you can do a great deal of good in Westeros. You’re already on the right path; you didn’t surrender to Praetorius and the other priests, and you helped me get to Ahch-To. Now it’s time to take the final step. I’m helping the rebellion in memory of my father — won’t you join me?”

While she was talking, Rey shrank the space between them, and Ben was suddenly, uncomfortably aware of just how close they were to each other.

“There’s no redemption for me,” he said, but Rey shook her head determinedly.

“That isn’t true. It’s right there, waiting for you. You just have to stop being trapped in the past, and forgive yourself.”

“I...” Ben’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I don’t know how.”

“Then I’ll show you.” Rey reached up and put a hand to his cheek, her fingers trembling.

Ben’s breathing turned a bit ragged, and he felt his heart start to pound. What was happening here? He wasn’t quite sure, but he also didn’t want it to stop.

He and Rey kept staring at each other, neither one of them making a move. Then suddenly, Rey leaned in towards him, and with a boldness he wished he had himself, she said, “I think I’d like to kiss you, Ben Targaryen Organa.”

He lurched, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might explode out of his chest. He knew he should tell her to stay away, that she didn’t want to tie herself to a monster like him. But here in this moment, as she was looking up at him with a desperate longing that he knew was reflected in his own eyes, he couldn’t say no.

“I certainly won’t stop you,” he said, trying to summon some of his father’s well-known flirtatious charm, but his voice cracked again.

Rey didn’t seem to care; as soon as the words “won’t stop you” left his lips, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his face towards hers. He’d never kissed anyone before, and he didn’t think she had either, but what they lacked in experience, they made up for in enthusiasm.

Rey kissed him as hard and fast as she could, and he returned the favor, sliding his hands around her waist as she pushed him back against the tree. He should probably be worried about his uncle coming back sometime soon, but at the moment he didn’t have the power or the desire to process rational thoughts.

He’d never wanted anything as much as he wanted Rey — rebel, freedom fighter, and daughter of the North. It scared him — these new, dangerous feelings that overwhelmed any lingering ties he might have still felt to the Night’s Watch. However, he’d gladly break every line of that vow for her; she mattered so much more than any of that.

Maybe what they were doing was too risky; they still hadn’t talked of what their plan was once Poe came to pick them up from Ahch-To. Ben still didn’t know if he’d join the rebellion.

But at the moment, neither one of them wanted to spend time asking those questions. She kissed him, again and again and again, until all of his guilt, pain, and shame burned away, leaving nothing but his feelings for her. He was still broken in many ways, but she was able to fill in some of the cracks in his heart.

And, for the first time in a long, long while, he felt _alive_.

***

Armitage Baratheon was absolutely livid.

He sat on the Iron Throne, gripping the sides of the chair so hard that his fingers hurt, as he stared across the throne room at High Priest Snoke.

Snoke should be thankful that Armitage couldn’t use magic like the priests of the First Order; otherwise, Armitage would have already snapped Snoke’s neck with a flick of his fingers.

Instead, Armitage had to listen with growing impatience as Snoke struggled to explain himself.

So far, nothing was going according to plan, and fate seemed to be fighting against him at every turn. He supposed he should have expected Snoke’s betrayal, but still, it surprised him. He thought he’d provided enough power and wealth to buy Snoke’s loyalty. Apparently, he hadn’t.

After killing his father and becoming ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, Armitage had attempted to consolidate his power as quickly as possible. (Yes, he’d killed his father — it was pretty much an open secret at this point, and he’d decided to stop denying it.) Armitage wasn’t going to wait until his pathetic father died of old age in order to inherit his birthright; he’d seized it for himself, and then he cut down anyone who tried to get in his way.

Killing Ned Stark was supposed to bring an end to House Organa’s ridiculous rebellion. He thought that Ned’s shocking public execution would frighten Leia into surrendering. However, that plan had apparently backfired. Instead of discouraging would-be rebels, Ned’s death inspired others to join the cause. Ned’s heir — his oldest son, Robb — had declared that Winterfell would be seceding from the Seven Kingdoms and had proclaimed himself “King in the North.” It would now take a long and bloody siege to get rid of Robb and the rest of the miserable Starks.

He also thought he’d deal Leia an additional blow by specifically requesting that her prodigal son, Ben, be given the mission to hunt down Ned’s fugitive bastard. But that’s where Snoke’s betrayal came in. Without seeking permission, Snoke sent eight of his warrior-priests to intercept Ben and escort Rey to the castle themselves.

Somehow, Ben and Rey had killed all those priests and were now missing in action. Maybe they were gone for good, but Hux doubted it. They’d show up again to undermine him, and the responsibility for that could be laid directly at Snoke’s feet. He’d already determined the high priest was going to die today; he was only giving him an opportunity to “defend” himself so that Armitage could get some inkling of why he’d turned traitor.

“I always have been — and always will be — loyal to you and the Iron Throne,” Snoke assured him, but Armitage saw those words for what they really were — an empty lie.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t see any good reason why you’d send out a squad of your priests — without telling me — to interrupt a mission that I had assigned directly to the Night’s Watch. Because of your interference, Leia’s son is on the loose, possibly allying with the rebellion, and Ned’s bastard Rey has become an unfortunate symbol of hope to these peasants.”

“I acted in what I believed was your best interest,” Snoke said, daring to take a step closer to the throne. His ridiculous gold robes swished across the floor as he walked, and Armitage clenched his fists, finding Snoke’s lack of fear (and respect) positively infuriating.

“I heard about rebel fighters mustering in the area, and I didn’t want to give them an opportunity to rescue Rey,” Snoke continued. “I wasn’t sure young Ben Organa was capable of successfully completing the mission on his own.”

“No, what you wanted was to capture Rey for yourself, so you could experiment on her without my knowledge!” Armitage hissed, spittle flying from his lips. “I was going to hold her for ransom and use her to lure Robb Stark out of Winterfell, which would require her to be in one piece. Who knows what you intended to do to her.”

While Snoke’s expression remained unchanged, for one brief second Armitage finally saw the faintest flicker of fear in his eyes.

Armitage latched onto that; he was now certain his suspicions were right, and he was going to use this to bring Snoke down. He was tired of relying on the priest and his unpredictable magic. Armitage felt he no longer needed that magic; he had enough military might to crush the rebellion on his own.

“Guards!” He gestured to the two knights on either side of him. “High Priest Snoke is going to be relieved of duty — permanently. But before I carry out my judgment, I want you to bring Lady Sansa Stark in here to witness this. Apparently watching Ned’s death wasn’t enough to stop Snoke from acting against me; Sansa needs to understand what happens to everyone who betrays the Iron Throne.”

Snoke cleared his throat, and Armitage’s gaze darted towards him.

“What is it now?” he snapped.

“Well, I originally came here to deliver some news, but you interrupted me by accusing me so unjustly,” Snoke said, his eyes narrowing. “If you hadn’t verbally accosted me, you’d have already learned that Sansa Stark has escaped from King’s Landing.”

“What?”

Armitage’s voice wasn’t loud, but he was certain every person in this throne room could sense his barely controlled rage.

“She fled from the capital sometime overnight,” Snoke explained. “Apparently a member of the Kingsguard — a young man by the name of Finn, who is a ‘Snow’ like Rey — decided to become a deserter and helped Sansa escape. I am not sure how it happened, but they also managed to steal my sword forged from Valyrian steel.”

“They stole your magic sword?” Armitage’s patience finally shattered. He pushed himself off the Iron Throne and strode towards Snoke, his guards immediately flanking him.

“You are going to die for this,” he told Snoke, seething. “I don’t even care anymore why you decided to betray me. I am through with you, you miserable son of a—”

Armitage stopped speaking, feeling as though the air had suddenly been sucked from his lungs. The two knights beside him cried out in pain and then collapsed on the ground, their necks snapping. Armitage stared at Snoke in horror as he realized, far too late, what was happening.

“You foolish boy,” Snoke sneered. “Did you really think your knights would be a match for my powers? You cannot control me or contain me — you never could. I served you while it was beneficial for me to do so, and although I had hoped to continue using you for awhile longer, you have now forced my hand.”

Armitage tried to speak, but the invisible grip around his throat was still too tight.

“I ultimately serve not you, but the Night King beyond the Wall,” Snoke revealed, and Armitage’s eyes went wide with shock. “His victory is inevitable, and I intend not to fight on the losing side of this coming war.”

“The...the Night King?” Armitage gasped, finally forcing some words out.

Snoke grinned, and now it was Armitage’s turn to be filled with terror.

“That’s what they call him, but you might know him better as Sheev Palpatine, the powerful necromancer who served as high priest of the First Order before me. The Westerosi cast him out, banishing him beyond the Wall, but in the end that worked in his favor. He has been using all this time to grow his powers and build an army of the undead that will sweep across Westeros and make all its worthless people tremble in fear. His revenge will be swift and sudden.”

As he continued to gasp for breath, Armitage realized bitterly that in a few seconds, he was going to die. Snoke would use his dark magic to completely close off his airway, and Armitage would choke to death. With his guards already dead, there was nothing he could do to escape from this inevitability.

However, if he was going down, then Snoke was going down with him. While the high priest was pontificating and gloating about his coming victory, Armitage reached his hand inside his tunic and slowly pulled out a hidden knife.

He knew how this would play out. He’d stab Snoke, and then in rage, the high priest would probably snap his neck, just as he’d done to the guards.

But what Snoke wouldn’t realize was that the knife was dipped in poison, and within seconds of Armitage’s own death, Snoke would be dead too. Even in defeat, Armitage could still outsmart the high priest.

Looking Snoke directly in the eyes and pretending to pay attention to his words, Hux buried his knife in the high priest’s side. Snoke screamed, and, just as Armitage had suspected, the high priest immediately snapped the king’s neck.

Yet even though Armitage did not live to see it, seconds after he’d died, Snoke doubled over in pain. He cursed the king as he fell to his knees, but there was nothing he could do to stop the deadly poison. He collapsed on the floor of the throne room, taking a few more ragged breaths before he too was gone.

The last thing he saw before he died was the now vacant Iron Throne towering over him, its promise of power ultimately eluding both him and the king.

***

Many miles away, in the frozen lands beyond the Wall, the Night King felt the passing of Armitage Baratheon and the First Order high priest. He experienced nothing more than a brief irritation that Snoke had not proved to be a more effective servant, but in the end, it did not matter. Neither Snoke nor Armitage were needed for him to achieve his revenge against the people who had feared his power and exiled him so many years ago.

Let the people of Westeros fight for a few more days over who would be the land’s next ruler, now that Armitage Baratheon was dead. Soon the Night King would lay waste to the Seven Kingdoms, and there would be no one left alive to care about who would sit on the Iron Throne.

He gazed out over his army of the dead, a force so numerous he could not see the end of it. They had no minds of their own, and existed only to kill on his behalf. They feared neither death nor the bitter cold, and they would not fear whatever pitiful resistance force the Westerosi sent to challenge them.

Winter was indeed coming, and there was nothing the Westerosi could do to stop it. 


	7. Fire in the Sky

Rey still wasn’t sure what to make of her and Ben Organa’s new “understanding.”

She hadn’t planned to admit her feelings for him on Ahch-To; before she set foot on that island, she hadn’t even wanted to admit to herself that she _did_ have feelings for him. Yet something about his confession — when he shared a part of himself with her that he probably hadn’t ever shared with anyone else — unlocked a door in her own heart, and she finally acknowledged the growing attraction between them.

Since the moment they first met in the tavern, they’d felt this inexplicable pull towards each other. Rey couldn’t deny that she was falling for him — hard; she just didn’t know if it was a good idea.

She was certain her family wouldn’t approve; she knew the Starks would never force her into an arranged marriage and would allow her to choose her own path, but she was pretty sure they wouldn’t be thrilled with the idea of her falling in love with an excommunicated member of the Night’s Watch. Especially since he had also chosen to exile himself from House Organa.

But that last bit would soon be mended — Rey was sure of it. She knew that Ben had a hard time picturing himself participating in the rebellion, but she was convinced that the moment he turned on Praetorius, he’d started down the path towards reconciliation with his House. Surely the fight against the Night King would bring them all together.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have a lot of time to discuss any of this; there wasn’t much privacy on Poe’s ship, and in the moments they did get to steal alone together, they both found kissing easier than talking. Then once they reached Takodana, they barely had any time to rest before Poe found them horses and sent them riding towards Riverrun to meet up with the Lady Amilyn Tyrell and her troops, who were already on their way to Winterfell.

Poe wouldn’t be joining them, though he’d still be serving the rebellion in a different way. Apparently Leia also had a naval attack on King’s Landing planned, and Poe would be one of the leaders of the rebellion’s fleet. With a wink, he offered Rey a chance to stay on the ship and serve as his first mate during the battle, but Rey declined. The Three-Eyed Raven had given her a mission, and a destiny; she was traveling to Winterfell to reunite with her family and then stop the Night King before he could begin his assault on Westeros.

Rey and Ben rode and rode and rode, for what felt like forever, stopping to sleep for only a few hours each day. They both knew time was not on their side.

They were exhausted and covered in dirt by the time the tiny village of Crait finally appeared on the horizon, not far from Riverrun, and Rey almost wept with relief. She could see what appeared to be thousands of white tents covering the plains before them, lined up in neat, orderly rows, with campfires flickering in between. At last, they’d found the rebellion.

As they rode closer, she smelled roasting meat and heard the sounds of laughter and good-natured shouting; it appeared the Lady Tyrell’s army was in high spirits...at least for now. That might change once Rey and Ben shared their dark tidings.

Several soldiers gathered around one of these campfires jumped to their feet and drew their swords as soon as they saw Rey and Ben approaching, but one of them quickly recognized her and ordered the others to stand down.

“Rey Snow!” he exclaimed, his eyes filling with wonder. He bowed his head in a gesture of respect. “The Lady Tyrell was hoping you would find our camp. Please follow me, M’Lady; there are several people here who will want to see you right away.”

None of the soldiers acknowledged Ben, but Rey couldn’t tell if that was because they didn’t know who he was, or if they _did know_ who he was and didn’t want anything to do with him.

As the soldiers led them through the camp, Rey noticed that their group was attracting quite a few stares and excited whispers. She even heard a few of them murmur “The North remembers” as she passed by, and she felt a pang as she thought of her father Ned, wishing he could be here too. Hopefully he’d known that his sacrifice would inspire thousands of soldiers to take up arms against the tyranny of the Baratheons.

While Rey would never be able to see Ned again, there was another Stark who had been able to escape from King’s Landing. As one of the soldiers pulled back the flap of a large tent at the center of a camp, ushering Rey and Ben inside, Rey immediately gasped with shock and joy. There was her adoptive sister Sansa, sitting at a long table that had been set up for this war council. Sansa was dressed in a plain gray gown, her red hair pulled back and secured by a pin that was decorated with a wolf head design, the Stark family symbol.

It took Sansa a moment to process that she was actually seeing Rey, but as soon as she did, she pushed back her chair and rushed towards her sister.

“Rey — you’re alive!” she exclaimed, giving her a tight hug. “I can barely believe it!

“How...how did you get here?” Rey asked in return, and Sansa smiled, glancing behind her at a handsome young man dressed in the golden armor of the Kingsguard.

“This is Finn,” Sansa explained. “He’s one of the few people who showed me kindness in King’s Landing. He helped me escape from Hux, and he’s also going to join our rebellion.”

Finn nodded at Rey and bowed deeply. “I’ve pledged myself to help House Stark however I can,” he told her. “The Baratheons forced me into service, and I thought I’d be doomed to stay in King’s Landing forever. But as soon as I saw what they did to Lord Eddard Stark, I knew I had to get out, consequences be damned.”

Although Rey wanted to take Sansa and Finn aside and hear all the details of their escape, she looked around the tent and realized that there was quite an audience of people watching them. Her and Ben’s arrival had likely interrupted a very important meeting.

Sansa seemed to sense that introductions were now in order, and she gestured towards the woman seated at the head of the table.

“Lady Amilyn Tyrell, allow me to present my sister, Rey Stark,” Sansa said. Like the soldiers, she didn’t mention anything about Rey’s companion, but Rey had a feeling Ben was probably grateful for that. He was currently standing off to the side, keeping his head down, as Finn stared at him somewhat critically.

The woman at the head of the table smiled warmly and motioned for Rey to come closer. Rey had heard a little about Amilyn Tyrell; many of the people in King’s Landing weren’t fond of her, labeling her as an “eccentric” and a “troublemaker.”

Well, maybe this woman didn't fit in at court, but what was wrong with that? Lady Tyrell’s eyes sparkled with wit and intelligence, and she could command people’s respect without inspiring fear like Hux did. She was wearing a bright purple headdress and an equally colorful gown, and she didn’t seem to care one bit what people thought about it. Rey liked her already. 

“Rey Stark — I’ve been hearing a great deal about you and all your adventures,” she said, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. “We welcome both you and your sister to the rebellion.”

Rey bowed. “It’s an honor to be here. We didn’t mean to interrupt the war council, but we have some serious news we need to share, and I don’t think it can wait.”

At the mention of “we,” Amilyn took note of Ben, who was trying to disappear into a shadow at the back of the tent. However, thanks to his Night’s Watch uniform, he still stood out, unable to pass as an ordinary soldier standing guard.

“Ah, Ben Organa,” Amilyn said thoughtfully. “I’ve been expecting you too.”

Ben looked up in surprise, her comment catching him off guard. Ben had apparently thought that no one in the rebellion had expected — or wanted — to see him. He’d probably assumed that, as Leia’s prodigal son, he wouldn’t be welcome here. But Rey had a feeling that Lady Tyrell was very good at reading people, and maybe she could see the good inside Ben Organa, even if he still couldn’t see it himself.

Ben covered for his feelings of awkwardness by immediately launching into the announcement they’d come to share, focusing on Lady Tyrell since most of the other rebels sitting at the table were glaring at him (perhaps they weren’t as open-minded as the Lady Tyrell was).

“We’ve come with a message from the Three-Eyed Raven — who also happens to be my uncle, but that’s another story for another time,” he said. “I know right now you’re focused on, ah, your rebellion against Armitage Baratheon, but there’s another threat you need to be aware of. There’s a necromancer beyond the Wall known as the Night King, and he’s bringing an army of the dead to Westeros to destroy us all.”

Rey heard a few gasps of horror, but she noticed that the majority of the people at the table appeared to be skeptical of this news.

“That’s quite the story — do you have any proof of this?”

Rey recognized the man who was speaking as Tyrion Lannister, and she was more than a little shocked to see him here at the war council. The Lannisters were some of Westeros’ staunchest supporters of House Baratheon, and she hadn’t expected any of them to join Leia’s rebellion. Yet she had heard a few stories about how Lord Tywin Lannister had mistreated and mocked his son, and perhaps here Tyrion had found the sense of family he’d been missing in his own household. And apparently Armitage Baratheon had become enough of a menace that even Tyrion’s older brother Jaime, former member of the Kingsguard, was here too, seated next to a female knight with short blond hair (perhaps Brienne of Tarth, if Rey’s memory served her well).

“Ben Organa speaks the truth,” Rey replied to Tyrion. “We saw his uncle transform into the Three-Eyed Raven right in front of us, so we know his powers are real. He said we needed to keep fighting against Hux, but we must also face the Night King. He’ll be coming to Winterfell after he breaches the Wall.”

Although Rey had hoped that her words would convince everyone at the war council of the severity of the threat, she mostly heard the sound of unhappy muttering as the people discussed their doubts amongst themselves. However, Lady Tyrell quickly put a stop to that.

“Why are we doubting the words of this woman, who is a member of House Stark, one of our greatest allies in the war against the Baratheons?” Lady Tyrell asked sternly. “She has already survived a great many trials and risked much to come here. I believe fate has been protecting her and leading her here. We cannot afford to ignore these grim tidings. Imagine if we defeat Hux’s armies, only to have this Night King lay waste to all our lands?”

“But how we will face a necromancer?” Jaime Lannister spoke up. “We don’t have magic, like the First Order priests.”

Sansa and Finn shared a look, and Finn stepped forward, pulling a sword out of the sheath hanging from his belt. The Valyrian steel sparkled in the light of the torches lining the sides of the tent, a bright red gemstone gleaming in the pommel.

“That’s a lovely sword, but I don’t quite see how that’s going to be anymore helpful than the swords we already have,” Jaime said dryly, and Lady Tyrell gave him a disapproving look.

“Well, it’s a good thing this is no ordinary sword,” she said. “Sansa and Finn stole this from High Priest Snoke’s private chambers. It was imbued with magical powers when it was forged; we haven’t figured out how to unlock these powers yet, but it’s possible a sword like this could be used against an otherworldly threat like the Night King.”

Rey noticed that Tyrion Lannister had been studying her carefully all this time, and while he still looked a little skeptical, he seemed to be gazing at her with a new sense of respect.

“Perhaps the Night King is only a myth,” Tyrion said, and when Lady Tyrell started to object, he quickly added, “but we are going to Winterfell anyway to reinforce Robb Stark’s troops. We might as well prepare to face the Night King also. If he doesn’t appear, all the better. But if he does, we don’t want to be caught off guard.”

“Then I say it’s settled,” Lady Tyrell said. “We were already planning to break camp in the morning, and we’ll try to get to Winterfell as fast as we can. Rey and Ben, I assume you will want to join us?”

“Of course,” Rey said immediately, hoping that she was speaking for both of them. Ben didn’t offer any objections, though he also didn’t meet her gaze. Lady Tyrell gestured at them to join the rest of the members of the war council sitting at the table, and Lady Tyrell and Tyrion Lannister began a spirited debate about the best route to take to Winterfell and how to force their way through Armitage Baratheon’s troops that were no doubt surrounding the castle.

Rey had never sat in on a meeting like this before and felt a bit out of place, but Sansa (who was sitting next to her) squeezed her hand and whispered, “You belong here, just as much as anyone else.” Rey realized she was one of four women sitting at this table — including Sansa, the Lady Tyrell, and Brienne — and everyone here had committed to a rebellion that was also being led by a woman, Leia Organa. Perhaps things were changing in Westeros after all.

***

The war council lasted until well after midnight, and by the time the meeting was adjourned, both Rey and Ben found they could barely keep their eyes open.

Rey had assumed they’d be sleeping in a tent, but Sansa informed her that some of the villagers from Crait had temporarily donated all the space in the town’s two-story inn to Lady Tyrell. Lady Tyrell had refused to sleep in a bed and preferred to use a cot in the war council tent, remaining near her troops. But she urged Sansa, Finn, Ben, and Rey to use the rooms in the inn, since they’d all recently survived harrowing journeys and hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in far too long.

Once they arrived at the inn, the innkeeper gave them fresh nightclothes and blankets, as well as a hot cup of soup, before escorting them to their separate rooms. Sansa gave both Rey and Finn a hug before retiring to her room, and Rey thanked Finn for helping her sister before Finn also bid them goodnight.

That left Rey and Ben standing alone in the hallway, staring at each other in the candlelight.

“Ben, I…”

She wanted to kiss him goodnight, but she’d noticed a tension between them, starting on the walk to the inn, where he’d said barely anything to her. Something was wrong, and she afraid to ask what it was.

“Rey, there’s something I need to tell you.” His voice was flat, but she could hear the pain behind the words all too clearly. He was drawing within himself, trying to close off his emotions again, and the sudden lack of intimacy felt like a slap to the face.

“I’ll march with you to Winterfell, to make sure you, your sister, and Finn get there safely,” he said. “But from there I think I’ll have to go my own way. I know you think there’s a place for me in the rebellion, but I don’t believe there is. Maybe if I explain everything, Lord Commander Canady will accept me back into the Night’s Watch. I can at least help Westeros that way.”

Rey stared at Ben in horror, feeling all her hopes for him — and their future together — crumbling in front of her.

“But what about everything that happened on Ahch-To?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. “Don’t you remember what your uncle said?”

Ben shook his head, miserable but stubborn. “I wanted to believe that my mother could forgive me, and welcome me back home, but that dream had no basis in reality. I realized that as I watched everyone here staring at me judgmentally — don’t think I didn’t notice that. It’s too late for me.”

“Don’t do this, Ben.” Rey tried to stop the tears welling in her eyes. “Please don’t go this way.”

“You have to let go, Rey,” he said. There were tears in his eyes now too. “We can’t change the past.”

“And you can’t let your fear keep holding you back!” Rey insisted, her voice rising. “Maybe no one else believes in you, but I...but I do! Isn’t that enough?”

“You just don’t get it!” Ben replied, his expression turning to one of frustration. He started pacing up and down the hallway. “I’m a despised prodigal heir from a great House. I can’t go home. If you were noble-born, maybe you’d understand.”

As soon as he said the words, Rey could tell that he regretted them. Horror filled his eyes as he stopped pacing. He started to apologize, but Rey took a step back.

“So you admit it — you still see me as a bastard ‘Snow’ who doesn’t belong here. Maybe I’m not as important or as powerful as you, but I’m willing to take a risk to do the right thing. I don’t need your approval to validate the choices that I’ve made.”

“Rey, please, I didn’t mean—”

Rey stared at him coldly. “I’m in love with Ben Organa — I’m not afraid to say it. By right now, you keep trying to be ‘Kylo Ren.’ I can’t save you or force you to change; you’ll have to decide when you’re ready to save yourself.”

Rey turned away from him, desperate to get to her room before she started sobbing. She didn’t want him to see the full extent of her grief. Although she couldn’t enable his self-destructive behavior anymore, leaving him broke her heart.

“Rey!” He tried to call out to her one more time, his voice filled with agony.

Maybe she would have turned around, giving him one more chance to explain himself. Maybe she wouldn’t.

But she never got a chance to decide, because suddenly the silence between them was broken by the sound piercing screams outside. Sansa and Finn immediately bolted out of their rooms, and the four of them rushed down the stairs, Rey and Ben’s disagreement temporarily forgotten.

Rey pushed through the door into the darkness outside, and as she looked up at the starry night sky, her heart filled with dismay.

The sky was filled with what appeared to be hundreds of flaming arrows, arcing towards the village of Crait.

Hux’s armies had caught up with them.


	8. King in the North

As Ben stared up at the sky and watched the fiery arrows raining down towards the village of Crait, all he felt was a paralyzing sense of numbness.

After all they’d been through to get here — fighting the First Order priests, traveling to Ahch-To, and learning about the Night King — there was now a very strong chance that they were going to die here tonight, before they ever had a chance to get to Winterfell.

He didn’t know the size of the army Hux had sent to intercept the Lady Tyrell’s troops, but judging by the sheer number of flaming arrows, it was a considerable force. House Tyrell could probably defeat them, but there would be casualties — casualties no one in the rebellion had been planning on.

But what made all of this even worse was the knowledge that if they did indeed die tonight, his last words to Rey would have been awful ones.

_“If you were noble-born, maybe you’d understand.”_

He couldn’t believe he’d said that. Why had he said that? He hadn’t really meant it, but the damage was done all the same. He’d seen the look of hurt and betrayal in her eyes as she’d backed away from him.

The truth was, he’d simply felt afraid again — of returning home, of facing his mother — and so he’d lashed out at Rey. And now he’d effectively driven away the last person who actually cared about him.

However, now wasn’t the time to wallow in self-pity; he had to make sure Rey, Finn, and Sansa survived this, and then he’d start trying to make things right. Hopefully he hadn’t broken things beyond repair; he’d never forgive himself if he had.

They all darted out of the way as the first wave of arrows landed, several of them sticking in the inn’s thatched roof and setting it on fire. The sounds of shouting and screaming grew louder and louder, as villagers began to flee their homes and the soldiers camped outside the town grabbed their weapons and rushed out of their tents.

“I’m going to go back to the camp to find Lady Tyrell,” Sansa said, her voice far calmer than Ben felt. He didn’t know Sansa well, but he could tell she was born to be a leader, in the same way his mother was. At another time he might have been jealous of her sense of composure, but now he was simply grateful for it, as it helped everyone else around her to remain calm as well.

“Finn, will you come with me?” Sansa asked, and before she’d even finished speaking, Finn had drawn his sword and was nodding grimly. He’d apparently already guessed what she was planning.

Sansa then turned to Rey and Ben. “And will the two of you stay in Crait, and help get these innocent villagers out of the line of fire? I’ll try to send some more soldiers here to help with the evacuation.”

“We’ll get as many out as we can,” Ben said as he drew his sword, just as Finn had done. He looked over and saw Rey had drawn her weapon too, her expression determined. While the tension between them hadn’t exactly gone away, for the moment it had been pushed aside. He might have ruined their relationship, but they could still work together to try to save some lives.

As Sansa and Finn ran back towards the war camp, Rey and Ben started running from house to house in the village of Crait, urging people to flee in the opposite direction of the falling arrows. By now Ben could also hear clanging swords in the darkness, and knew Lady Tyrell’s troops had engaged with Hux’s forces.

Thankfully the village of Crait was small, and it didn’t take much time to visit all the homes and make sure they were clear. By now Lady Tyrell’s troops had also succeeded in drawing some of the archers away from the village itself, making it easier for the townspeople to flee.

Still, plenty of danger remained, and Ben had to cast aside his cloak when a flaming arrow pierced the hem and set it on fire.

Finally, they reached the edge of the village and the final home. Rey directed a young woman and her two small children where to run to join the other villagers, and Ben found himself breathing a sigh of relief, as he realized they’d been able to successfully evacuate the village without any injuries or casualties.

At least, that’s what he assumed until he heard the sound of desperate shouting behind him.

“Help me, please! Someone help me!”

Ben whirled around and saw the innkeeper who’d greeted them earlier, the man’s face smudged with ash and streaked with tears.

“My baby girl is still inside the inn, on the second floor!” he cried in panic and grief. “I thought my wife had grabbed her, and my wife thought she was with me, and now the building is on fire and we can’t get up the staircase—”

Ben didn’t even wait for the man to complete his explanation. He took running off towards the inn as fast as he could, unsure of what he’d do once he got there but knowing he had to try _something_. He’d done so many things wrong today, but perhaps this was one thing he could do right.

He heard Rey calling out to him, but he didn’t look back. There was no reason for both of them to rush into the inferno; he would take this risk upon himself.

Flames were licking up the sides of the wooden building as Ben dashed through the still-open door of the inn. He started coughing and choking on the smoky air, and had to cover his mouth with his hand (not that it did much good). He could hear the baby screaming upstairs, and the sound comforted him, because it meant the child was still alive.

There were flames surrounding the staircase, and Ben had to step back and taking a running leap in order to vault himself over the fire. He didn’t allow himself to worry about how he’d get back down; he had to tackle this one step at a time.

The upstairs floor was filled with even more smoke, and Ben had to duck down in order to see. He followed the sound of crying and stopped at the door to the baby’s room. Thankfully, the door was still shut, which had helped to slow down the flames just a little.

He found the crib, scooped up the terrified baby, and then rushed towards the window, where he could hear the father still weeping. Rey was standing next to the man, trying to comfort him, but her eyes were also wide with fear.

Not wanting the baby to have to breathe in the smoky air any longer, Ben leaned out the window and called, “You’ll have to catch her! I don’t want to risk taking her down the stairs!”

“Catch her?” the man cried in dismay, but Rey lifted up her arms, prepared for what Ben was about to do. This plan was a little risky, but Ben felt it was the best option. He had to get the baby out now.

Ben held the baby outside the window, and, as gently as possible, lowered her towards Rey. He was suddenly afraid to let go, but Rey looked up at him and mouthed: _I’ve got this_.

So Ben decided to trust her, let go, and then the baby dropped into the safety of Rey’s arms.

The father began immediately weeping with relief, cradling his child close to him. Ben and Rey locked eyes, and Ben felt the tightness in his chest ease just a little, as he realized that he’d finally done it — he’d done something right.

He was ready to run back down those stairs and start fixing the rest of his mistakes, when he heard a loud crack above his head. In horror, he looked up and saw that the flames had weakened the supporting beams holding up the ceiling.

“Ben, run!” Rey suddenly started screaming. She’d apparently heard the noise and guessed what was happening too. Ben turned around and took a step towards the staircase, but it was too late.

With another loud crack, the roof of the inn collapsed, and the entire building was engulfed in flames.

***

Rey wasn’t sure what happened after the inn collapsed.

She vaguely remembered screaming, as the innkeeper grabbed her by the arm to prevent her from running into the flames and trying to save Ben.

At some point Finn and Sansa showed up and also helped restrain her. “I have to go in, I have to go in!” she kept insisting, but they wouldn’t let her go. She kept fighting until she finally admitted what the others had already realized: it was too late to save him.

In a daze, she fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched the fire consume the inn. Somehow, she made it back to the camp (someone had probably carried her), and then another person pushed her up onto a horse and sent her galloping into the darkness.

Sansa later told her that the Lady Tyrell had ordered her troops to retreat and meet back up at Winterfell. If they’d stayed, they likely could have defeated Hux’s forces, but with the Night King coming, they had precious little time to waste and the Lady Tyrell wanted to save as many lives as she could. In fact, she and a small band of rebels had volunteered to stay behind and try to distract Hux’s soldiers so more of her troops and the villagers could escape.

In her fevered sense of despair, Rey thought she saw a brilliant green flash in the sky behind her as she rode away from Crait. She later learned that was the Lady Tyrell’s distraction: a tiny bit of Wildfire, a flammable, highly-explosive liquid weapon stolen from King’s Landing. The explosion did succeed in drawing the attention of Hux’s army away from the village of Crait and the fleeing members of the rebellion, but the plan was executed at great cost. Although her actions had saved her people and the village of Crait from further destruction, the Lady Tyrell had reportedly died in the blast.

Rey lost all track of time on the road to Winterfell, too numb to do anything but stare blankly ahead as the bleak landscape flew by. She hadn’t had a vision since Ahch-To, and all she could see in her mind was the look on Ben’s face when he realized the ceiling was going to collapse on him. They’d stared at each other, all the pain and regret and longing between them remaining unspoken, and then he was gone.

Although Rey’s feelings for him were still complicated, she had never stopped believing that in the end, he’d find redemption. Now that chance had been taken away from him, and she’d never see him again.

When Winterfell finally appeared on the horizon, its snow-dusted towers reaching towards the dreary gray sky, Rey couldn’t even bring herself to feel joy — only relief. She should have been happy to see her home again, but her heart was too hollowed out by grief.

Thankfully, Robb’s troops had succeeded in driving back Hux’s armies camped around Winterfell, and House Baratheon appeared to be taking a respite from their attack on the castle. She could still see their yellow tents in the distance, however, a reminder that Hux had not given up yet.

The gate lowered as Rey and the other members of the rebellion approached Winterfell (Sansa had made sure the soldiers were carrying banners for House Stark and House Organa, to let Robb know they were friends).

It was Robb himself who met them at the gates, wrapped in a thick woolen cloak to keep out the chill in the air. Although he was the same age as Rey, he looked so much older now. Ned’s death and the siege of Winterfell had aged him several years, and now he really did look like the King in the North, proud and noble but carrying a heavy burden on his broad shoulders.

As he looked up and saw Rey and Sansa riding towards the castle, his tired eyes filled with tears of joy. None of them had thought they’d ever see each other again.

Rey and Sansa jumped down from their horses and Robb ran towards them, wrapping his arms around them. They all stood there for a long time, simply hugging each other and crying, as the other soldiers marched into Winterfell, respectfully giving them space and allowing them to have a private family moment.

Eventually Sansa broke away, leaving to help Finn get settled, but Robb and Rey remained. Robb seemed to sense Rey wasn’t ready to let go yet, and he held her as long as she needed.

When she finally let go, he placed both his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “I’m so sorry for what you had to see in King’s Landing,” he said quietly. “I know father’s last thought was about you and Sansa, hoping you would escape and make it back home to Winterfell. I’m so grateful both of you are here; I know your journey can’t have been easy.”

“I don’t know if I would have made it without Ben Organa,” she said, and her voice caught. Robb’s eyes widened in surprise, but he could tell by her tone that he needed to tread carefully here.

“General Leia Organa’s son?” he asked. “The one who’s serving in the Night’s Watch and going by the name ‘Kylo Ren’?”

Rey nodded. “It’s a long, long story, but Hux sent him to capture me, only he refused to do it in the end. We went to the Iron Islands and met the Three-Eyed Raven, and we learned about a threat to Westeros that’s even more dangerous than Hux. Ben was supposed to come with me to Winterfell today, but when Hux’s army attacked the village of Crait, he...he died in a burning building.”

Rey’s tears started flowing again, and Robb said nothing, hugging her tighter. Rey hadn’t said anything about her feelings for Ben, but Robb had probably guessed. He neither questioned nor judged her, simply offering her the comfort she so desperately needed.

Finally, Rey accepted that they could linger no longer, and they walked through the gate, heading into the castle. It felt strange to see her home again, after all this time. Especially since its lord, Eddard Stark, was no longer here. Would she ever be able to wander the grounds without being preoccupied with the ghosts of the past?

Rey greeted her remaining sisters and brothers in the main hall — Arya, Bran, and Rickon — who, like Robb, were also overjoyed to see her. Catelyn Stark appeared to be exhausted with worry, and she began crying with relief when she saw Rey.

Rey sat through the council that followed, letting Sansa do most of the talking. Sansa explained about what happened at Crait and about the Night King beyond the Wall. Robb accepted their tidings without skepticism, and urged everyone to begin preparing for a battle on a secondary front.

The Starks hosted a large feast afterwards for all the arriving troops, but Rey slipped away after the first course, not feeling hungry at all. She wandered through the cold castle halls until she found her bedroom.

A warm fire was already roaring in the fireplace, and someone had placed a vase of flowers on the nightstand beside her bed. (Perhaps Rickon? He was always thoughtful like that.) She sank down onto the soft blankets on the bed, and without even bothering to change into her nightclothes, she kicked off her boots and laid down.

She wanted to close her eyes and wake up from this dream, and then find that she and Ben were still back on Poe’s ship, and they could try this all over again. Why did he have to die before they could make things right between them? She would stay strong and keep fighting this war, but the fact that she was going to be fighting for the future of a Westeros without Ben Organa broke her heart.

She was so lost in her thoughts and her grief that it took her a moment to notice the knocking at her window. Startled, she looked up and saw a bird tapping its beak on the windowpane. Except, as she looked closer, she realized it was no ordinary bird — it was the Three-Eyed Raven.

“Master Luke?” she asked, her voice still trembling with emotion. She wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to compose herself.

Although the Raven did not open its beak, she heard its voice — Luke’s voice — speaking inside her head.

“You’ve done well,” he told her. “You’ve brought reinforcements to Winterfell, and the rebellion now has a good chance of defeating both Hux and the Night King. Do not forget the artifact that Sansa and Finn stole from King’s Landing; you’ll have need of it before the end.”

“The artifact?” Rey asked incredulously, her temper rising. “How can you even talk about that right now. Aren’t you going to acknowledge the loss of your nephew?”

The Three-Eyed Raven cocked its head. “The loss of my nephew?” Luke said. “What makes you think he’s lost?”

Rey had no patience for the Raven’s cruel game. “I watched the inn collapse and be consumed by flames. There’s no way a mortal man could have survived that. Don’t you dare try to give me false hope.”

“Yes — Ben Organa is a mortal man,” Luke replied. “But not an ordinary mortal man. Remember — Targaryen blood flows in his veins.”

“What does that have to do with this situation?” Rey said, still not understanding.

“Have you not heard the legend of Daenerys the Unburnt?” Luke said. “A Targaryen who survived the flames?”

“No.” Rey was more confused than ever. “What happened? What does this mean for Ben?”

But the Three-Eyed Raven was already flapping its wings and taking flight, disappearing into the darkness.

“Wait!” Rey cried, jumping to her feet and rushing to the window. “I want to understand!”

The Three-Eyed Raven said no more, but suddenly, Rey’s vision faded to black, and for just a moment, she was back in the village of Crait, staring at the smoldering pile of rubble where the inn had once stood. Then, through the dying flames, a hand reached above the planks of charred wood, desperately reaching for the starry sky.

And then everything went black again, and Rey collapsed.


	9. Ghost in the Flames

Ben woke suddenly, gasping for breath.

He was surrounded by darkness and ash, and for a moment he panicked, unable to determine where he was.

_Am I dead?_

No, it couldn’t be that — he hurt too much, and he could feel a warm trickle of blood running down his face. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but he was alive — he was certain of that, at least.

The memories came back to him slowly: arrows falling from the sky, flames all around the village, and finally the ceiling collapsing on him. He heard Rey screaming somewhere in the distance, and then he’d been buried under a pile of burning wood.

_How am I not dead?_

First, the building should have crushed him, and then, if he’d somehow survived all that, the flames should have finished him off. And yet, somehow, he was still here.

Claustrophobia began to set in, and Ben struggled to push his way out of the mound of debris he was trapped under. It was still night, making it difficult to see, but he found a patch of starlight and crawled towards that.

Eventually, he climbed out of the rubble and shakily stood to his feet. He coughed violently, clearing his lungs, and then he gulped in the fresh night air untainted by smoke.

He felt the cool breeze on his skin, and then finally realized, with no small amount of confusion and shame, that he wasn’t wearing any clothes. The fire must have burned them away, while miraculously leaving his skin untouched.

_What in the Seven Kingdoms happened to me?_

Ben staggered away from the rubble, grabbing his now-charred cloak and wrapping it around him. About half of the fabric had burned away after he cast it aside earlier, but perhaps the fleeing villagers had inadvertently trampled out the flames. Technically there was no one around to see that he wasn’t wearing any clothes, but he still felt embarrassed and wanted to cover himself.

He glanced frantically around the village, but could find no signs of the townspeople or of Lady Tyrell’s troops. The battle had apparently ended while he was knocked out. Normally he would have felt hurt that no one had waited to see what happened to him, but how could he blame them? Logically, he shouldn’t have survived the fire.

_Ben Organa…_

He heard a faint rustling in the trees near the edge of the village. He assumed it was just the wind, but he almost thought he’d heard something whispering his name.

_Ben Organa…_

He shivered, feeling a chill run down his spine. That was definitely more than just the wind. The voice was vaguely masculine but otherwise unfamiliar to him. It had an ethereal tone, as if not quite rooted in the mortal realm.

_Ben Organa…_

He stumbled towards the sound, still unsteady on his feet, and saw a faint bluish light flickering amongst the trees.

“Hello?” he called. He probably should have grabbed his sword first, but it was still lost beneath all that rubble. “Who’s there?”

“Ben Organa!”

The voice abruptly changed from a whisper to a shout, and Ben was blinded by a bright flash of blue light. He threw up his hands in what was likely a fruitless attempt to protect himself. If this was some sort of magic summoned by the First Order priests, he was going to be doomed.

However, when he finally lowered his hands and dared to take a peek, he found not a priest but a ghostly spectre hovering in front of him, surrounded by what appeared to be magical blue flames.

“Who the hell are you?” Ben asked before realizing he should have started with a more diplomatically phrased question.

To his surprise, the spectre smiled and actually chuckled, its “eyes” sparkling with merriment. The ghost appeared to be, paradoxically, both young and ancient, with slightly wavy “hair” and flowing robes. He looked strangely familiar, now that Ben was studying him more carefully, but he couldn’t pinpoint who it was.

“You are so much like your father Han,” the spectre told Ben, and Ben immediately bristled; hearing his father’s name brought back too many painful memories, and reminded him of the guilt he still found so difficult to face.

“And, though you never knew me, you’re a lot like me as well,” the spectre continued. “In fact, you may not even recognize me. I’m your grandfather Anakin.”

Although Ben had already experienced plenty of surprises since first leaving the Wall to look for Rey, this was perhaps the most shocking — even more shocking than the fact his uncle Luke was now the Three-Eyed Raven.

“Why...why are you here?” Ben stammered, unsure of what else to say. “Didn’t you die beyond the Wall?”

“Yes and no,” Anakin said. His tone was oddly conversational for a supernatural being. “The old Anakin — the Anakin who betrayed Westeros and was seduced by the First Order — did ‘die’ beyond the Wall; or rather, he decided to stop being that broken, fallen man and left his old self behind. I became the Three-Eyed Raven, and when it was my time die — in a literal sense, this time — I visited my son, your uncle Luke, and asked him to take on the role. Now I have summoned the last of my power as a ghost, so that I could speak to you before I pass on into the World Between Worlds.”

“Speak to me?” Ben asked incredulously. He wished he could express himself more eloquently, but right now he was still having trouble processing the fact that he was speaking to the ghost of his dead grandfather, who apparently hadn’t died as a villain, like everyone had thought.

Anakin nodded, his eyes filling with pity. “That’s why I saved you from the burning inn. You’re not the first Targaryen to claim the title ‘Unburnt,’ after all; Daenerys also silenced her doubters when she emerged from the flames, untouched. I’m sure your mother told you the legend.”

Leia had told him this story, but he’d assumed it was just that — a story. He was having a much easier time believing it now.

“It wasn’t your time to die, Ben,” Anakin went on. “Westeros still needs you. Your family needs you.” He paused, and then gently added, “And I believe that Rey needs you too.”

Ben flinched, and he had to look away, unable to meet Anakin’s gaze. “Listen, I don’t want to sound ungrateful for what you did for me,” he said. “I’m incredibly thankful to still be alive. But I don’t really think that Westeros needs me specifically. I’ve...I’ve made so many mistakes. I’ve hurt so many people.”

He closed his eyes and saw the faces of his father, his mother, his uncle, Rey, and too many others. Their disappointed expressions haunted him now, and he was afraid they’d keep haunting him forever. The countless ways he’d hurt these innocent people were like scars carved into his heart.

When he finally opened his eyes again, he found his vision was blurred with tears. “It’s too late for me,” he said quietly. “I mean, I want to ask for Rey’s forgiveness — I _have_ to do that. But I don’t think anyone is keen to actually welcome me back home. I burned all those bridges long ago.”

Anakin’s ghost drifted closer to him, and though up close his grandfather’s face still looked young, Anakin’s eyes reflected an ancient sadness.

“That’s exactly what I thought about myself,” Anakin said. “And so I nearly missed my chance for redemption. Don’t make the mistake of assuming you’re too far gone, Ben. If you are willing to face your failures, you can find your way back to the light. There is still a place for you in House Organa.”

Anakin touched Ben’s forehead, and Ben saw a vision of the great hall in House Organa’s castle. His mother was sitting at the head of a long table, with two empty chairs beside her. One had belonged to his father, and that chair would remain vacant forever. But the other chair was Ben’s, and in his vision, he saw his mother looking at him and whispering the words, “Come home, my son.”

_Come home...come home...come home…_

He felt the words like a drumbeat in his heart, driving him back to Alderaan. He was terrified to answer the call, because it would mean dredging up all the hidden shames from his past. He would have to embrace the pain and humiliation, but on the other side of that would be healing.

“Can you...can you show me how to find my way back to the light?” he asked, and Anakin smiled wistfully.

“Each person’s path to redemption is different, and I cannot tell you the exact way to go. Sadly, my power is almost spent, and I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you soon. But before I go, I can do one more thing for you.

“When you spoke to your uncle Luke, he reminded you that you have Targaryen blood. Because of that, there is a helper you can call upon — one of the most ancient and powerful beings in Westeros. A creature that could help turn the tide in the coming war.”

“You mean a dragon?” Ben asked in disbelief. Surely that couldn’t be what his grandfather was referring to. “But I thought they were all gone.”

“And you thought I’d died in the darkness, without ever finding the light again,” Anakin said. “The creature’s name is Drogon — the last of Daenerys’ dragons — and if you call him, he will come. But first you have to believe that you are worthy of summoning him. He’ll know when you’re ready.”

The bluish light surrounding Anakin began to fade, and Ben realized the ghost was leaving him. He wanted to call his grandfather back, so he wouldn’t be left alone again, but he realized it was a blessing he’d gotten to see his grandfather at all. Anakin had told him what he had to do — he just had to decide to embrace his destiny.

***

Ben lingered at the edge of the village until morning, watching the sunrise paint the sky brilliant shades of yellow and orange.

Gradually, the townspeople began to return to the village, inspecting the damage that had been done to their homes. A woman found Ben some actual clothes to wear; she was still too numb to ask or care why he was naked except for his cloak. Everyone had experienced far too much trauma the night before to have the energy to question a man who looked as haggard as they were.

The innkeepers whose child Ben had saved didn’t recognize him, and he didn’t bother to explain what had happened. He didn’t think anyone was ready to hear a story about how he’d magically survived the fire, or about the ghost who had saved him.

He spent the rest of the day helping people sort through debris and repair their homes, and they seemed grateful for the help, probably assuming he was a rebellion soldier who had accidentally been left behind.

After a dinner of stew made with whatever supplies people could find, Ben wandered back to the edge of town and watched the sunset, just as he’d watched the sunrise.

_Come to me, Drogon._

For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words out loud yet, embarrassed to finally be reclaiming his birthright after all this time. He stared at the horizon, wondering how Drogon would know when he was ready.

“Come...come to me, Drogon.”

He forced the words out, barely more than a whisper, but at least he’d actually said them. Although nothing happened, inside he felt just a little bit freer.

He spent the next day working with the villagers, and then that night he walked outside the town and called for Drogon again, a little louder this time. Even though he still didn’t believe he was worthy, he tried to push aside his doubts. He had to convince the dragon he was ready for this.

For the next several days, Ben followed this same pattern: helping the villagers rebuild during the day, and then calling for Drogon at night. It felt good to be doing something concrete by helping the villagers. Still, they did seem to keep him at a bit of a distance, a little unsure of this mysterious man who was longing to leave but made no move to do so.

Ben kept waiting for Drogon, and also any news of the rebellion, and soon the silence began to wear on him. If Drogon didn’t come soon, Ben might miss the battle at Winterfell, and what if the Night King wiped out the rebellion before he got there? Ben still wasn’t sure his presence would make a difference, but if Rey and his mother were doomed to die, then he would bloody well die beside them.

Once again, Ben walked out to the edge of the village, but he decided that tonight, he wouldn’t go back — he’d stay out here until something happened.

Anakin had told him that Drogon would only come to him when the dragon sensed that he was ready, and ever since then Ben had been waiting for some miraculous surge of confidence to overtake him. However, perhaps Ben would never be able to fully escape from his self-doubt, and he would just have to act in spite of it. Maybe he couldn’t magically make himself “worthy” all of a sudden, but he could work towards that.

He was going to bloody try.

“Come to me, Drogon. Let me prove that I’m worthy.”

He tried to pour his heart into those words, letting his voice betray all of his doubts, grief, and guilt. He wasn’t hiding it anymore.

“Come to me, Drogon — please!”

His voice was growing louder and louder, but he no longer cared if anyone from the village heard him and thought he was crazy. He kept walking towards the horizon, spreading out his hands.

“Come to me, Drogon!”

He could feel the power behind that ancient name, and though he feared it, he did not shrink from it.

“Come to me, Drogon!”

He took a deep breath, and with everything left inside him, called out, “I am Ben Targaryen Organa — I summon you now!”

He flung up his hands to the skies, and for moment, there was nothing but silence, punctuated only by the faint chirping of crickets.

Ben waited, his eyes closed and his hands clenched at his sides, until he heard a strange noise in the distance. It was like no sound he’d ever heard before, but he was fairly certain he knew what it was: the sound of giant wings beating the air.

Ben opened his eyes and saw a dark speck on the horizon, growing larger and larger. He didn’t dare to look away as the form gradually took shape, revealing itself to be a giant dragon with massive wings and shiny black and red scales.

It was flying straight towards him, and as soon as it saw him, it opened its mouth and let out a mighty roar that shook the ground beneath his feet.

The dragon dived towards the ground and landed beside him, the wind generated by its powerful wings nearly knocking Ben off his feet. The dragon stared at him, its expression impossible to read, and Ben realized that if Drogon decided to eat him or breathe fire on him, there was nothing he could do about it.

Not knowing what else to do, he slowly reached out his hand to Drogon’s snout, praying that he wouldn’t do anything to anger the dragon. Drogon blinked at Ben a bit incredulously, but then he lowered his head so that Ben could place his hand on the dragon’s scales.

Ben drew in a quick, shuddering breath, unable to believe that he was actually doing this. The dragon’s scales felt smooth to the touch, almost like a snake’s except much harder. Few people in Westeros alive today had seen a dragon, much less touched one.

“Will you take me to Winterfell?” he asked, and though Drogon didn’t respond, he didn’t bite Ben’s head off, which was a positive sign. The dragon crouched on the ground, and Ben realized it was waiting for him to climb up on its back so they could fly together.

_This is your destiny — you have to own it._

Ben wasn’t sure if the voice was from his uncle or his grandfather, but in the end it didn’t matter, because at long last, he was ready to respond. Fear and doubt and shame weren’t going to hold him back anymore.

“I’m ready,” Ben said, taking a step towards Drogon. “But we do need to go to Alderaan first. There’s something that I have to get there before we join the battle.”

Drogon sniffed, as if giving him an affirmative reply, and then before Ben could talk himself out of it, he climbed up on top of Drogon’s back and grabbed on as tightly as he could.

He barely had time to get settled before the dragon started flapping his wings and leapt into the sky. Ben’s stomach churned as he looked down and saw the ground shrinking below him, but he decided it wasn’t a bad sensation. Up here he felt weightless, and free, as if he’d left all his cares below him on the ground.

_I’m coming!_

If only there was a way to send that message to his mother and Rey. Right now, he could only hope to arrive at Winterfell before the Night King, in time to make a difference.

He closed his eyes and felt the wind whipping past his face and whistling in his ears.

_I’m coming, I’m coming, I’m coming!_

He had faith that he wouldn’t be too late.


	10. Armies in the Snow

Rey didn’t tell anyone about her vision.

She didn’t think that Luke/the Three-Eyed Raven meant to be cruel, but his mysterious appearance outside her window on her first night back at Winterfell had not helped her at all.

At first she thought he was trying to imply that Ben Organa was still alive, but she didn’t see how that could be possible. She finally decided that Luke had intended to comfort her with the idea that Ben’s legend would live on, even after his death.

Maybe someday she would find comfort in that, but right now it only made her feel worse. What she really wanted was Ben Organa here beside her at Winterfell, fighting with the rebels in the coming battle. His absence had left a hole in her heart that ached every time she thought of him — which was often.

She spent the next few days sorting supplies and helping lead the rebel troops in training exercises. Hux’s armies still hadn’t made a move, and everyone in Winterfell seemed grateful for a break from the fighting.

Rey, Robb, and Arya would be marching into battle alongside the soldiers, while Sansa volunteered to remain behind to manage things at the castle. There was an unspoken part of that duty, that no one dared to mention but everyone understood: if Rey, Robb, and Arya all fell in battle, at least there would still be three Stark children left alive to carry on the family legacy (Bran and Rickon were both too young to fight in the battle).

One discovery that did bring Rey joy was a moment when she turned a corner in the castle and nearly ran into Rose Tico, the young woman who’d helped her in a tavern on a night that now seemed so long ago. Rose and her family had left their tavern the night that “Kylo Ren” had taken Rey prisoner and had come straight to Winterfell to help with the fight against Hux.

The two young women embraced with tears in their eyes, their hug expressing more than words ever could. Rose’s knack for organization and making repairs had earned her a job from General Leia Organa herself, fixing the catapults that had been damaged in a previous skirmish.

Rey still hadn’t met General Organa, and she had to admit that she wasn’t necessarily keen to. General Organa was a legend, and of course Rey admired her, but the thought of seeing Ben’s mother was too much to bear right now. Before they arrived at Winterfell, Sansa had sent a raven ahead to warn General Organa of the news about her son, Ben, and her best friend, Amilyn Tyrell. Rey had heard reports that despite all that, the general was soldiering on, as dedicated to the rebellion as ever.

Rey couldn’t imagine the depth of grief that General Organa was hiding behind that brave facade. She remained strong because she had to; she was the leader of this rebellion, the symbol the people of Westeros had begun looking to in order to give them hope. Leia had already lost so, so much — her parents, her husband, and now also her son and her friend. Rey was desperately trying to think of something she could say to help bring General Organa peace, when they did finally meet.

_Your son meant a lot to me. Whatever he may have done in the past, he died as a hero. I’ll never forget him._

Rey was thinking about Ben as she and Finn were sparring in the castle courtyard on a chilly afternoon, wishing that Ben could have been here training with them. She was so absorbed in her private thoughts that she didn’t notice her brother Robb had walked up behind her.

“Rey, I have something to show you,” he said, and she turned around, finding her brother’s expression to be grim but also strangely hopeful.

Finn nodded at her and sheathed his sword, inviting her to come find him later if she wanted to spar again today.

Curious about what Robb was planning, Rey followed her brother through the castle to the armory, which was full of the sounds of clanking and banging as weapons were being readied for the battle. He took her to a private room connected to the armory, and stopped in front of a brand-new suit of armor hanging from a stand in the middle of the room.

“Is this your new suit of armor?” Rey asked, stepping closer and admiring the fine craftsmanship. The silver-colored metal gleamed in the shaft of sunlight peeking through the room’s tiny slit of a window. Two straps of leather wrapped across the breastplate and held up a heavy cloak flowing behind the armor. The leather was embossed with two wolf heads, the Stark family symbol that Rey had come to treasure and look on as her own.

“Not exactly,” Robb said, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “I don’t think it’s quite my size. But there’s someone else in this room that it should fit quite perfectly.”

Rey stared at him in surprise. This armor...was for her? Since she arrived, she’d been practicing in spare pieces of armor and chainmail, and hadn’t expected or even wanted anything different. She was technically not a Stark heir, like Robb and his siblings were. She was content just to fight alongside them.

“Father actually commissioned this armor for you, before he died,” Robb said quietly, running his hand along the armor’s smooth surface. “I think he knew the conflict with the Baratheons would inevitably come to war, and he wanted all his children to be prepared to defend Winterfell.”

Rey didn’t try to hide the tears shining in her eyes, and Robb didn’t try to hide his tears either.

“Whether the world recognizes you or not, you are Rey Stark,” he said. “Father wanted you to know that you are one of us, that you truly do belong here. He believed that fate led him to you, and you were always destined to become a Stark.”

“Yes indeed.”

A shadow fell across the floor, and Rey and Robb glanced behind them to find General Leia Organa herself standing in the doorway, smiling wistfully at them. The general’s grayish brown hair was braided into an elaborate knot at the back of her head, and she wore an elegantly simple dark blue dress. Rey immediately recognized her as the woman from her visions: an avenger with a sword, fearlessly leading her followers to freedom.

Rey started to bow but Leia immediately began shaking her head.

“Oh, you don’t need to do that for me,” she said. “We’re all equal members of this rebellion. I just wanted to come meet the woman who defied the odds and escaped from the clutches of Hux and the First Order.”

“She is quite a marvel,” Robb agreed. He seemed to sense that the general wanted a private moment with his sister, and so he quietly excused himself, squeezing Rey’s hand before he slipped out of the room.

“I hear you saved my son,” Leia said softly once Robb was gone, and Rey felt a lump in her throat.

“But I didn’t — I let him run into that fiery inn alone, and now he’s...now he’s…”

“No one’s ever really gone,” Leia replied, her voice thick with emotion. “At least, that’s what I tell myself when I think of all the people I’ve lost. I wish I could have seen my son one more time, but I’m comforted that you were there with him. You may not have saved his life, but from what Sansa tells me, you did save his soul.”

“I...I loved him.” Rey couldn’t believe she was confessing this to a woman she had just met, especially since she wasn’t sure how Leia would react to it. “There was a connection between us — deeper than anything I’ve ever experienced with another person. I wish...I wish we had parted on better terms.”

“My son had a hard time believing that he was deserving of love,” Leia said, her eyes sad. “No matter how many times I assured him that I would love him no matter what, and that I forgave him for what happened with his father, he never believed me. It broke my heart to think of him pacing back and forth on the Wall, alone in the cold and the darkness, because he felt he deserved to be exiled.”

_“There’s no redemption for me.”_

She remembered Ben’s words to her on Ahch-To, so full of regret and longing. He hated himself so much that he was unable to see that fate had given him a second chance, and the fact that he had died believing he was lost would haunt her forever.

“We’ll be grieving him for a long time, even after this battle is over,” Leia said, reaching out and taking Rey’s hand. “But I haven’t forsaken all hope, and I don’t want you to either. We need you, Rey Stark; I believe you’ll have a great role to play in the fight to come.”

“Do you think we can beat them — both Hux and the Night King?” Rey asked, and finally Leia’s smile returned. It wasn’t a bright, confident smile, but it was a tiny ray of hope amidst the darkness and grief.

“Yes — I’m confident that we will.”

Rey didn’t think the odds were in their favor; it would be very difficult to face a battle on two fronts, and a lot of people would probably be betting against them.

But if Leia had faith that they would prevail, then Rey believed her.

***

Rey slept deeply that night — deeper than she had slept in a long, long time. Exhaustion had finally caught up with her, and Leia’s words of hope had given her enough peace to quiet the madly swirling thoughts inside her mind.

She likely would have slept hard through the night, for once not plagued by nightmares, but she was awakened sometime after midnight by the sound of someone pounding on her door.

Throwing her cloak over her nightdress, she jumped out of bed and opened the door, finding Robb, Sansa, and Arya standing in front of her, their faces solemn.

“We’re sorry to wake you,” Sansa said. “I know how desperately we all need sleep. But we just received two ravens bearing messages that we cannot afford to wait until morning to address.”

In a daze, Rey changed into a tunic and pants and then hurried after her siblings through the castle halls, wondering what dire news the ravens had brought. She could easily guess what it was in regards to — it must have something to do with either Hux or the Night King, and neither of those tidings could be good.

General Leia Organa, Tyrion and Jaime Lannister, and all the other leaders who had converged on Winterfell had already gathered in the main hall by the time Rey and her siblings arrived. Leia gave Rey a small smile as their eyes met, but Rey could see how troubled the general was. It was rather disconcerting after Leia’s apparent confidence yesterday.

“Now that we’re all here, you might as well tell us this news that was bad enough to drag us all out of bed — it had better be worth it,” Jaime said dryly, and Leia gave him a disapproving look. She didn’t appear to have the patience for flippant comments tonight.

“We received two messages within an hour of each other,” Leia said. “One is what some might call good news, and the other is very bad.”

“Well, let’s start with the ‘good’ then,” Jaime said, and Leia looked him straight in the eyes.

“King Armitage Baratheon is dead.”

That unexpected announcement was enough to earn a gasp of surprise from even Jaime himself.

“Apparently he and the First Order High Priest Snoke killed each other,” Leia explained. “There were no survivors in the throne room, so no one is quite sure what happened. Apparently Hux’s council members tried to keep the news quiet, to avoid spreading panic, but word has gotten out now, and King’s Landing is in complete chaos.

“I received that raven from Captain Poe Dameron, whose fleet has apparently won back the city. All of Hux’s surviving council members have surrendered, and most of the First Order priests have fled. This news has also reached Hux’s troops encamped around Winterfell, and they are in the process of retreating as we speak.”

“Well, that is good news,” Tyrion said, though Rey heard no relief in his tone. “I would celebrate, but I fear these tidings are not quite good enough to balance out the bad news you’re about to share with us.”

“Hux may be gone, but a greater danger awaits,” Leia said, her tone grave. “I don’t know quite how to tell you all this, so I might as well say it directly: The Night King has arrived in Westeros, and the Wall has fallen. I honestly thought it would take them more time, but he is already on his way here, moving with what seems to be supernatural speed. Lord Commander Canady died when the Wall fell, along with many members of the Night’s Watch; one of the few survivors was able to send me this message.”

Rey could see fear dawning in the eyes of every single person in the room, as they processed what Leia was saying. The Wall had guarded the border of Westeros for so long, a seemingly impenetrable barrier to protect them from the dangers of the Unknown Regions. But apparently the Night King was so powerful that even a wall of ice could not stop him.

_How are we going to stop him?_

“Do we even stand a chance, then?” Jaime said in frustration. He was trying to appear in control of the situation, but Rey could tell that Leia’s news had rattled him. “Should we flee? Try to run somewhere where the Night King can’t reach us?”

“I don’t think we can,” Rey said, and everyone turned to stare at her. Some of the older men looked a little surprised that a young woman was addressing them, but when they tried to stop her, Leia silenced them with a fierce glare. She then nodded at Rey and urged her to continue.

“The Three-Eyed Raven told me to come here and fight the Night King, so that’s what we have to do,” Rey said. “We have to trust that fate will be on our side. Look at what’s already happened with Hux — we thought we’d have to face that army too, but fate intervened. I believe that it will intervene again.”

“As do I,” Leia said. “The Night King and his army of the dead will be a fearsome foe, and it will be hard to defeat them. But my scholars say the undead can be killed with fire and magic, and we can’t forget that we do have Snoke’s sword.” She paused and looked over at Rey, the general’s expression full of confidence once again. “And I think Rey Stark should be the one to carry it into battle.”

Before Rey could even splutter “M...me?” in shock, one of the older lords stood to his feet, his face reddening in anger.

“General Organa, surely you cannot be suggesting that we put our most valuable weapon in the hands of an inexperienced girl!” he said, spitting out the word “girl” as though it were an expletive. “Give it to one of our trained knights, such as Jaime Lannister. We can’t afford to waste what may be our only chance to defeat the Night King.”

To everyone’s surprise, however, Jaime Lannister immediately shook his head. “I already have a sword to carry into battle,” he said, patting the weapon hanging from his belt. “I believe the general is right — Rey Stark was visited by the Three-Eyed Raven and has been having visions about all of this, making her the only one of us that has access to any kind of magic. The real waste would be to ignore the Three-Eyed Raven’s Chosen One.”

“I stand with General Organa and my sister,” Robb said, bowing to the general. Slowly, everyone else bowed and expressed their consent as well, though Rey could still hear a few murmurs of complaint. However, for now it was enough to know that the general and her family supported her; she’d just have to prove her doubters wrong.

Finn stepped forward and handed Snoke’s sword to General Organa, and Leia took it from him carefully, passing it on to Rey.

Knowing that everyone’s eyes were locked on her, Rey slowly wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the sword and pulled it out of the scabbard, trying to convince herself that she was worthy to carry this sword into battle. She imagined herself standing on the battlefield, dressed in her new suit of armor, as soldiers swarmed around her. She would be ready — she had to be.

Unfortunately, she wouldn’t have much time to prepare herself. As soon as she’d lifted up the sword, the halls of the castle filled with the sound of clanging bells, and Rey realized that the watchers on the castle walls were sounding the alarm.

Everyone in the main hall grabbed their weapons and rushed outside, where soldiers were already mustering in response to the bells. Rey dashed up the stone steps to the top of the wall surrounding the castle, taking two steps at a time. Robb was right behind her.

When Rey peered into the darkness, at first she saw nothing but flecks of snow drifting on the wind. But then, in the light of the moon, she saw a mass of dark shapes on the horizon. They marched closer and closer, and soon Rey could hear the thundering sound of their heavy footsteps.

The snowflakes began to fall faster and thicker, and clouds obscured the full moon, making it even more difficult to see.

“The dead are coming! The dead are coming!” she heard someone crying out in the castle courtyard, and she gripped Snoke’s sword even tighter, praying that it would be enough to stop the hoard that was headed their way.

Robb and Rey could have remained atop the castle walls, waiting to see what the Night King’s army would do before they dared to lead their troops onto the field of battle. But they both understood that if the Wall itself hadn’t been strong enough to keep out the dead, there was no way the walls of Winterfell would protect them.

Every moment they waited allowed the fear and tension inside Winterfell to keep building, and they couldn’t allow panic to defeat them before the Night King even arrived.

“I guess it’s time to try out that suit of armor,” Robb said, his dark, curly hair already dusted with snow. He tried to smile as he said it, but his voice cracked. Rey realized this might be their last few moments together, if the Three-Eyed Raven’s promises failed them.

“We’ll get through this,” Rey said, putting her hand on Robb’s shoulder. “I know we will. We’ll both live to see the dawn — and a free Westeros.”

Robb’s smile widened, more sincere this time. “Then let’s show the Night King a little Northern hospitality.” 


	11. Dragon in the Clouds

Rey thought she knew what war was like. She’d trained and studied, and Ned Stark had tried to prepare his children as well as he could. 

But Rey hadn’t imagined just how awful, terrifying, and bloody a battle could be, the air filled with the screams of the dying and the almost deafening clash of weapons.

When the alarm bells had first sounded, General Leia Organa had immediately mounted her horse and ridden out to meet the Night King’s army, preferring to lead from the front despite the risk to her safety. Her troops had followed her loyally, their belief in her as a leader overcoming the terror they felt at facing an army of the dead. None of them had any experience with this kind of fight, against a supernatural force that had never been encountered in Westeros before. 

Rey and Robb had been among the first fighters to charge through the castle gates, determined to protect General Organa since the Night King would no doubt mark her as his prime target. 

Leia had hoped the fight would wait until morning, since the darkness would make it harder to see their foes, but Rey doubted the lack of light bothered the Night King. Maybe he didn’t even need to “see” at all, like a human did, and was instead drawn in by the overpowering fear felt by his opponents. 

Sansa made sure all the torches lining the walls of Winterfell had been lit, giving them a little light to see by, and some of the soldiers were carrying torches. In her final shouted command to her forces, Leia urged everyone to behead the undead and then set their bodies on fire, so the Night King couldn’t resurrect them. 

No one was quite sure what would happen when Rey used Snoke’s magical sword, but hopefully it would kill the undead immediately. Ideally, Rey would run straight to the Night King and use the sword on him, stopping the battle before it started, but she was certain he wouldn’t be that easy to reach. 

As Leia’s forces marched towards the army of the dead, the archers on the walls of Winterfell loosed their flaming arrows, sending them soaring over the heads of the Westerosi and plunging into the undead hoard. 

The dead began shrieking as they burned, the piercing sound hurting Rey’s ears. She wanted to duck and cover her ears, to protect them from the awful sound, but she knew she couldn’t afford to take her eyes off the battle. She had to keep General Organa in sight, and also look for the Night King. 

However, within less than a minute of the two armies clashing, Rey had already failed that goal. In the chaos of battle, Rey quickly lost track of General Organa, unable to see her amidst the clouds of smoke from the burning corpses. She swung her sword at an undead soldier lumbering towards her, and she had to choke back the acid rising in her throat as the corpse exploded in a cloud of foul-smelling dust. 

She should feel relief — the sword had done just what she hoped it would, destroying the dead without the need to set them on fire. But the sulfuric smell from the disintegrating corpse made her want to vomit, and all she could think about was the fact that not all the screaming she was hearing around her was from the undead. Her friends and allies were dying too. 

She had only a few seconds to collect herself before she had to whirl around and run her sword through another undead soldier charging at her. She swung her sword again and again and again, until she finally lost count of how many undead she had destroyed. 

And still, they kept coming. She and Robb fought back to back, a burning pile of corpses at their feet, but it still wasn’t enough. The army of the dead appeared to be endless; for every undead soldier they killed, two more seemed to materialize in its place. 

Out of the clouds of smoke, she saw Jaime Lannister running towards them, his face smeared with ash. An ugly slash on his arm was oozing blood, and he appeared to be in a considerable amount of pain. 

“The general has been injured!” he shouted. “They—” He paused to chop off the head of an undead soldier, and then waited for Robb to use his torch to set it on fire. 

“She didn’t want to leave the battlefield — it took five soldiers to finally grab her and drag her back to Winterfell,” Jaime continued. “Unfortunately, I think the Night King sensed that she’d been injured, and he’s sending even more of his bloody troops into the fray. He probably believes he can crush us even more swiftly now that he’s dealt this blow to morale.”

“Will the general live?” Robb asked anxiously, and Jaime nodded. 

“Yes — I believe we got her out in time. But I don’t know how long we’ll last without her.” He swung around, beheading two undead with one stroke of his sword. Robb barely managed to light them on fire before they started twitching again, the Night King attempting to reanimate their limbs. 

“Rey, we have to get you to the front, if you’re willing,” Jaime said. “The troops need to see you still fighting with that sword, now that Leia is gone.”

Rey didn’t think she was at all prepared to lead from the front, but she knew Jaime was right. The Westerosi soldiers needed to see that Snoke’s magical sword was still swinging, and that all hope wasn’t lost yet.

Jaime and Rey hacked a path through the swarm of the dead, with Robb following along behind them burning corpses. Westerosi were dropping all around them, and the soldiers seemed too busy trying to survive to even notice that Rey was still carrying the sword. 

Rey lost all track of time as she, Robb, and Jaime formed a triangle, beheading all the undead who got within reach of their swords. As they continued fighting through the long hours of the night, with no sign of a break, Rey’s resolve began to slip. 

Maybe the Three-Eyed Raven _ had _been wrong to place his faith in her; maybe this wasn’t a fight they could win. Perhaps there was nothing they could do to prevent themselves from being overwhelmed by the dead. And the most horrific part of that was the knowledge that once they were gone, the Night King would just resurrect them, turn them into undead soldiers, and then force them to join his nightmarish march across Westeros. 

“Well, this might be the end for us,” Jaime shouted, more exhaustion than anger in his tone. The cut on his arm continued to seep blood, and Rey worried that he had lost too much and was at risk of collapsing. She wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to pull him back to his feet. 

“It can’t end like this!” Robb shouted back in frustration. “We can’t have fought for nothing.”

_ Is this what you wanted, Luke? _

Rey turned up her dirt-covered face to the skies, which were just now starting to lighten with the promise of the coming dawn. She had thought the sunrise would bring her hope, but the sunlight just made it all that easier to see the mass of grotesque soldiers pressing in around them. 

_ Have you just left us here to die? Help us, please! _

She didn’t know if Luke had heard her silent plea or not. There was still so much she didn’t understand about the Three-Eyed Raven’s powers. 

Yet even though Luke did not answer her directly, something else did. _ Something Luke had known about and believed in all this time... _

As the remaining Westerosi soldiers were pushed back towards Winterfell, more and more of them dragged to the ground by the ruthless undead, an ear-piercing roar shook the ground. 

Rey’s heart sank; at first she thought this was some new horror from the Night King, but she quickly realized that even the dead had halted for a moment, looking strangely hesitant. 

Rey looked back up to the skies as another roar rumbled across the clouds, and this time her heart nearly stopped. 

A dragon — that’s where the roaring was from. The creature was even more impressive and terrifying than Rey had imagined: its red and black scales glistened in the sunrise and its powerful wings beat the air with a heavy thumping sound. 

She was so surprised to see it that she wasn’t even afraid, wondering how in the Seven Kingdoms the dragon had survived all this time, and why it had decided to come to Winterfell at this exact moment, when the rebel army was almost spent. 

She wondered until she caught a glimpse of the knight riding on top of the dragon, and suddenly everything became clear. She was so shocked and overwhelmed by what she saw that she fell to her knees, and Robb and Jaime had to catch her to prevent her from hitting the ground. 

_ It was Ben Organa. _

She didn’t know how he’d escaped from the burning inn. She didn’t know how he’d found this dragon. She didn’t know how he’d managed to show up at just the right time. 

None of that mattered. All that counted was that he was alive, and he’d come back to her. 

Like the phoenix in his family crest, he’d survived the flames and risen to fight again, bringing hope when they were almost out of it.

“Dracarys!” Ben cried out in an ancient tongue, then swooped in low over the undead. The dragon opened its mouth and shot a blistering bolt of flames at the Night King’s forces, burning up hundreds of them in one pass. 

As the Westerosi soldiers realized the dragon was on their side, they raised up their weapons and began to cheer, the hope brought by Ben Organa giving them the energy to keep fighting. 

The dragon dived towards the ground again and again, burning a perimeter around Winterfell and driving back the undead army. Rey knew this wall of flame would eventually burn out and leave them vulnerable once again, but Ben had just bought them precious time to rest and recover. This battle wasn’t over after all. 

Once the rebels were surrounded by a protective ring of fire, Ben brought the dragon in for a landing, everyone scurrying out of the way. The dragon may have just saved all their lives, but they were still more than a little afraid of it. 

But Rey wasn’t. Before the dragon had even landed, Rey had sheathed her sword and was running towards Ben, her feet flying across the ground despite her exhaustion. 

Ben jumped down from the dragon’s back, and suddenly they were facing each other, only a few feet apart. Rey stopped, too overwhelmed to think or say anything. Ben also appeared at a loss for words, just taking in the sight of her. 

“That’s a nice suit of armor,” Rey told him, her voice trembling a little. She glanced up and down at the very changed man in front of her. He must have stopped by Alderaan on his way here, trading out his Night’s Watch uniform for a flowing red cape and armor bearing the crest of House Organa. He looked like a prince, and Rey felt a fluttering in her stomach, unable to take her eyes off him. 

“You too,” Ben said, admiring her new armor from her father. She was covered in dirt, ash, and blood, but he was looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “You look good in the Stark family colors. I—” 

He stopped and shook his head. “Listen Rey, there’s so much I want to say to you, but I don’t know how much time we have left before the undead find a way to put out the dragonfire. And if we’re...well, if it’s our destiny to die today, there’s something I have to tell you first.” 

He dropped to his knees, looking up at her with tears in his eyes and gently taking her hands. “Rey Stark, I’ve come to beg you to forgive me. I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever said or done that hurt you. I’ve made so many mistakes in my life, and I used my fear as an excuse to push you away. 

“If we manage to survive this, I’ll tell you the full story of how I escaped from the burning inn. But when I thought I was going to die, all I could think about was you, and wishing I had a chance to make things right again. I love you, Rey Stark — I don’t deserve you, but today I will gladly fight and die alongside you.”

Rey couldn’t speak; she could barely even breathe. She knew everyone was staring at them, but she didn’t bloody care. When she looked into Ben’s eyes, she could still see the pain that he held inside his heart, but he was no longer utterly broken. He had admitted his mistakes, and she could see that he truly had changed. 

And if she did die today, the last words she’d whisper to herself were _ “I love you, Rey Stark” _— reminding herself that he’d said them. 

Despite the fact that everyone was definitely still watching, Rey stood on her tiptoes and pulled Ben’s head towards her own, running her fingers through his wind-tossed dark hair. 

“I love you, Ben Organa,” she whispered, so only he could hear, trying to make this precious moment as private as one could on a battlefield. 

She kissed him, and he wrapped his arms around her, picking her off the ground. She wished she could make this moment last an eternity, freezing time so that she and Ben could spend forever here together, not having to worry about the Night King and his army of death. 

Yet she didn’t have that power, and he didn’t either, and eventually they had to break apart. 

“Well, _ that _was quite an entrance,” Jaime Lannister remarked, raising an eyebrow, and Ben’s face flushed bright red. 

“I...uh…”

“Don’t mind Jaime,” Robb said, grabbing Ben’s hand and shaking it. “We’re all bloody glad you and that dragon of yours are here.”

As a military commander, Robb probably wanted to grill Ben on just _ how _he’d gotten here and why he’d waited until now to join the rebellion, but Robb knew that Rey would vouch for Ben, and that was enough. 

“I saw my mother on the castle walls, as I flew over,” Ben said. “I wanted to stop but it looked like Drogon was needed right away.”

“The general was injured and is technically supposed to be resting,” Jaime said. “But refusing to go to bed and stubbornly watching on the walls sounds exactly like General Organa to me.” 

“I made sure my mother saw me,” Ben said quietly, looking over at Rey. “I needed her to know that I’d come back. That I’d come _ home_.”

The way he said “home” with an aching sense of relief made Rey want to throw her arms around him again, and never let go. 

But sadly, they were out of time. The shrieks of the dead started growing louder, and suddenly the ring of fire created by Drogon was snuffed out with a blast of supernatural ice. Several soldiers who were standing too close to the fire got caught in the magic and turned into icy statues, their faces frozen in pain. 

In horror, Rey and the other rebels turned and saw the army of the dead parting in two, creating a pathway that allowed a ghostly creature, that even the dead feared, to drift through their ranks. 

_ The Night King. _

His skin appeared to be made of ice, and his eyes glowed with an unearthly fire. He carried a massive sword that made Snoke’s sword look like a child’s plaything. As the undead parted before him, he locked eyes with Rey and then forced her to hold his gaze. 

Panic rose within her as she tried to avert her eyes but couldn’t. 

_ I’m coming for you, Rey Snow. _

The Night King had the power to speak in her head, just as Luke did, but his voice was like long fingernails scraping across metal, and it made her clutch her head in agony. 

The Night King must know that the Three-Eyed Raven had chosen her, and she was suddenly afraid that even Drogon wouldn’t be able to protect her from this magic-wielding wraith. 

Ben pulled out his sword and took a defensive stance beside Rey, and Drogon crouched behind them, a low rumble in his throat. 

“You have the power to defeat him,” Ben whispered, and in her mind Rey grabbed onto his words like a tether, using them to pull herself out of the Night King’s spell. 

Ben was afraid too; she could hear it in his voice. But he believed in her, and trusted her, and he would not leave her side. 

Rey saw a dark blur flashing above her head, and looked up just in time to see the Three-Eyed Raven soaring above her. The Night King’s icy grip on her mind suddenly disappeared, and instead Rey could hear Luke’s soothing voice. 

_ Ben is right. You have everything you need, _ the Three-Eyed Raven said. _ Snoke’s sword is powerful, yes, but your mind is a more powerful weapon still. _

_ But what does that mean? _Rey asked back, trying her best to stare down the Night King as he continued to march towards her. 

She knew ravens couldn’t smile, but she could almost sense Luke doing it. _ Did it ever occur to you that the gift that allows me to enter your mind and speak to you also allows you to do the same to others? _

Rey looked up as the Three-Eyed Raven fluttered away, having given her all he could. She looked around at the faces of the friends and family surrounding her — Robb and Ben, and in the distance, Finn and Arya fighting together. 

She knew what she had to do.


	12. Sword in the Sunrise

Ben had never felt more terrified than he was right now — but he was also, paradoxically, completely at peace. 

This was where he was supposed to be. This was the moment his life had been leading towards. He was finally fulfilling his destiny. 

All the mistakes and sins of his past would still have to be addressed; he wasn’t going to magically achieve redemption just by saying the words “I’m sorry.”

But he had taken the first important step, and Rey had forgiven him, even though he didn’t deserve it. 

“Follow me,” she whispered to him before marching towards the Night King, her head held high and her cape flapping in the wind. She held up Snoke’s sword, making sure the Night King and all the undead soldiers surrounding him could see it. 

The selfish part of Ben wanted to step in front of Rey and stop her from facing the Night King; he wanted her to survive this battle and live a long life in Westeros, even if he had to sacrifice himself in order to make that happen. 

However, he knew that Rey was not a child who needed protecting. She was a warrior, and right now she was exactly where fate wanted her to be. It was Rey’s destiny to defeat the Night King, and it was his job to get out of her bloody way.

Ben, Robb, and Jaime lined up behind her, all three of them following her lead. The Night King kept his gaze locked on Rey, though he no longer seemed to have the power to force her to stare back at him. The fighting had now completely stopped, all the Westerosi and the undead gathered in a circle around Rey and the Night King, waiting to see what would happen. 

“Rey Snow.” 

The Night King’s gravelly voice made Ben’s skin crawl. He noticed the wraith had used the bastard name “Snow” on purpose to demean Rey, but she ignored it. 

“Long have I waited,” the Night King continued, his cracked lips turning upwards in a grotesque smile. “And now your coming together is your undoing. No one in Westeros can stop my army of the dead.”

“Why are you here?” Rey asked, matching his coldness with an even icier tone. Ben could see that her hands were trembling, yet she gripped the hilt of her sword with conviction and strength. 

The Night King laughed, a disconcerting noise that sounded more like choking than actual laughter. “I am here to reclaim what was mine, after I was banished by fools from this place. You have come to fear the name ‘The Night King,’ but I want all of Westeros to know and fear who I really am: Sheev Palpatine, high priest of the First Order.”

He looked over at Ben, and his wicked grin grew even wider. “Ah, so the prodigal has joined the bastard! How fitting that both of you are here on the day of the last sunrise in Westeros, before my eternal winter. I greatly enjoyed corrupting your grandfather Anakin, and I’ll greatly enjoy killing you, Ben Organa.”

“No!”

Rey struck with a sudden fierceness that seemed to catch even the Night King off guard, and he somewhat clumsily hoisted his sword in the air to block hers. 

He hissed in rage over the fact that she’d managed to surprise him, and he attacked her with a supernatural ferocity that would have quickly overcome most mortal opponents. 

But Rey was drawing on magic now too; perhaps the Three-Eyed Raven had opened a channel for her, or perhaps that innate power had always been there, lying dormant. Maybe Snoke’s magical sword was feeding into it too. 

Rey stood her ground and proved herself to be a worthy opponent in her duel with the Night King, the two of them circling around each other in a deadly dance. Their swords clashed again and again, but they never managed to wound each other. 

All the Westerosi soldiers watched Rey with both fear and awe, none of them moving or even daring to breathe. Everyone seemed to realize that entire future of Westeros was hanging in the balance right here, right now. If the Night King defeated Rey and broke the magic sword, there would be nothing to stop him from laying waste to the Seven Kingdoms. 

“I don’t care whether you call yourself the Night King or Palpatine,” Rey angrily told the wraith she was battling, her sword clanging against his. “You die TODAY.”

The Night King snarled, returning her blow. “You ignorant child — I have waited and prepared for this moment for far too long to be stopped by someone as insignificant as you!”

The Night King seemed to possess a seemingly limitless supply of energy, and while Rey was drawing on magical powers to keep herself going, in the end she was still a mortal, and would eventually grow tired. Her steps were beginning to slow, and before Ben realized what was happening, she had tripped and sprawled facedown in the mud. 

“Rey!” he cried out, but it was too late. 

The Night King was upon Rey in an instant, standing over her and pressing the tip of his sword to her throat. 

“Let go of Snoke’s sword right now,” he commanded her. 

“Why should I?” Rey spat, still defiant even now, when she was completely at his mercy. “You’re going to kill me anyway.”

“But I’ll make it quick and painless,” the Night King said gently, in a whisper that would have been soothing if it had come from the mouth of someone less depraved. “I don’t wish to damage you too greatly; once I have killed and then resurrected you, you will be a wonderful vessel for me to channel my power through. Maybe I’ll even use you to kill your family — that would be poetic, wouldn’t it? The bastard Ned Stark saved will become his family’s undoing.”

Ben expected Rey to keep raging at the Night King, and so he was stunned when her body went limp and she quietly replied, “All right — I surrender.”

The Night King allowed her to stand to her feet, and she handed off Snoke’s sword to one of the Night King’s undead generals. 

Ben, Robb, and Jaime were all watching this scene in stunned horror, but there was nothing they could do. If they tried to take a step towards Rey, the Night King would end her. 

“Since you surrendered, I will allow you to die with some dignity,” the Night King told Rey as he faced her. “I will drive this sword through your heart, in front of all these witnesses who will remember your bravery for a few moments until I kill them too.”

“Burn in hell!” Robb shouted to the Night King, but the taunt only made the wraith smile. 

“Do you have any last words, Rey Snow of Westeros?” the Night King asked, and Rey’s expression remained flat and emotionless. She appeared strangely calm in this moment, as if she knew of one last twist in this story that was still to come, of which the Night King remained unaware. 

“Yes, I do have something to say to you,” Rey said, and then looked the Night King straight in the eyes. “Goodbye.”

The Night King raised his sword but he never got a chance to use it. Because at that moment, Snoke’s magical sword pierced his chest, causing the wraith to scream in agony. 

He had just been stabbed in the back, quite literally, by the general who had taken Snoke’s sword from Rey for safekeeping. The general looked at the Night King in confusion, as if he wasn’t quite sure what he had just done. 

The Night King’s body began to collapse in on itself, as if he were rotting from within. He shouted curse after curse at Rey and the rest of the Westerosi soldiers, but his words had no power anymore. Eventually, he exploded in a cloud of ash and ice, that the wind quickly swept away. 

One by one, the undead soldiers began to disappear in puffs of smoke, letting out quiet sighs as they faded into dust. Without the Night King controlling them or artificially keeping them “alive,” they were finally able to pass on to the next life in peace. 

The Westerosi army was so shocked that it took them a moment to realize what had happened. Maybe they’d never fully understand, but that didn’t stop them from erupting into loud shouts and cheers anyway, hugging and dancing and lifting up their hands to the sunrise. They didn’t care how the Night King had died; they just knew that he was gone, and that they were free. 

Ben, however, was certain that he did know what had happened. Just as the Three-Eyed Raven could communicate with her inside her head, Rey had unlocked the power to enter the minds of others — in this case, an undead general. She had taken over his mind and compelled him to stab the Night King, freeing him and the other undead trapped by the Night King, and also saving all of Westeros. 

Everyone was congratulating Rey and clapping her on the back, and even Drogon got caught up in all the excitement, leaping into the sky and flying in circles over Winterfell, delighting the soldiers who looked up at the creature in wonder.

“It’s over, it’s over!” someone was crying with tears of joy, but Ben wasn’t sure he agreed. 

Because he saw this not as an ending, but a beginning. Without Hux and the Night King to control them, the people of Westeros could finally define for themselves what they wanted their future to be.

*** 

While all the soldiers were busy finding their family members and friends and celebrating, Ben slipped through the crowd and started walking back towards Winterfell. 

He caught Rey’s eye before he left, and she nodded at him in understanding. They’d find each other again later. For now she was surrounded by her family, and Ben had someone back at Winterfell that he needed to see. 

Most of the people who had taken refuge inside of Winterfell were now rushing out through the main gate, carrying food and water to the troops and also helping the wounded. Ben carefully pushed his way through the crowd, and then quietly inquired of the guards at the gate, asking if he could be taken to see the general. 

Either they recognized who he was or just assumed he was connected to the general because of his armor bearing House Organa’s crest, because he was escorted right away to a private room in a quiet corner of the castle. 

Now that the battle had been won, General Leia Organa had actually consented to the healer’s orders to stay in bed and rest. She was dozing when Ben walked in, and he found himself hesitant to wake her. 

All the mud and grime from the battle had been washed off her face, and her grayish brown hair was spread out like a halo around her head. The wound on her chest had been carefully bandaged, and someone had tucked her into bed with a thick, fluffy blanket. She looked serene, and at peace, and Ben feared what would happen when her eyes opened and she saw him standing there. 

Stepping quietly over to the empty chair beside his mother’s bed, he sat down and waited without speaking, preferring to let his mother awaken in her own time. The minutes that followed were fraught with anxiety, as he prayed that somehow his mother would be able to forgive him, even after all this time. 

He shut his eyes and laid his head in his hands, so overwhelmed by all that had occurred today that he almost didn’t hear his mother’s voice when she finally spoke. 

“Ben?”

He immediately sat up, and saw that his mother’s eyes were shining with tears as she reached out her hand to him. 

“I always believed you’d come back,” she said, her voice hoarse with emotion, and from all the shouting she’d done during the battle. “Always.”

“I didn’t deserve that faith,” Ben said, dropping his gaze. “I wish you’d been given a better son to carry on your legacy.”

His mother tucked her fingers underneath his chin, and lifted it so that they were looking at each other in the eyes again. 

“When I heard the dragon roaring earlier today, I thought we were done for,” she said. “But then I looked up and saw that it was my son riding on top of that dragon, wearing the armor of House Organa and claiming his Targaryen blood. And in that moment, I knew that all would be well. That even if I didn’t survive my wounds, I could die in peace, because my son had found the light again.”

Ben gripped his mother’s hand and she gripped it back with a surprising strength, given her injuries. The Night King should have known that this powerful woman wouldn’t be easy to defeat. 

“The guards who brought me here told me you’re expected to make a full recovery,” he said, and Leia chuckled. 

“Well, then it appears you will be stuck with your mother for a good deal longer,” she said. “Although I’m afraid I might soon lose you in a different sense — to a certain very pretty Stark.”

Ben’s face reddened slightly. “I, uh, do admire Rey Stark quite a bit, and I…”

Leia’s chuckle grew into a robust laugh, the bright and bubbling sound carrying down the hallway. Ben hadn’t heard his mother laugh like this in years, and the sound couldn’t help but lift his own spirits, even though he continued to feel mortally embarrassed. 

“You might as well admit that you love her and be done with it,” Leia said, patting his hand. “I’m sure the two of you could make a fine home in the North or in Alderaan, wherever you decide.”

On the battlefield, Rey had told him that she loved him, but Ben didn’t want to rush it. There was still some mending that he had to do, and he had a ways to go before he would feel worthy of her. But her words had filled him with a hope he hadn’t dared to entertain before today. 

“I’m sorry for everything that happened,” Ben said, his expression growing serious once again. “For dad, for running away, for joining the Night’s Watch when you needed me at home, for—”

Leia held a finger gently to his lips. “All is forgiven, Ben. I forgave you a long time ago, and I will never withdraw that forgiveness. I would have still forgiven you even if you’d never come back home.”

“Thank you.” It was all that Ben could say, the lump in his throat preventing him from speaking more. He felt like it would take him many years to truly accept that forgiveness, and to let go of the pain from his past. But for the first time, he truly did believe that one day, everything would be made right again. 

“So what happens now?” Ben asked. “Hux is dead. The Night King is dead. Who rules the Seven Kingdoms?”

Leia smiled and squeezed his hand. “I have a plan for that.”


	13. Hope in the Dawn

“Thank you all for gathering here today.”

General Leia Organa stood at the head of a long table that had been set up in the Great Hall in King’s Landing, the Iron Throne looming in the distance behind her. Sunlight streamed in through the window above the throne, casting long shadows across the floor.

The leaders of Westeros seated around this table stared at the general in complete silence, her words commanding their full attention. 

Ben knew his mother had chosen this location for a very specific reason. The Iron Throne was a sobering sight, reminding everyone of all the innocent blood that had been shed over the years, as people fought for control of this chair and what it symbolized. Leia wanted the leaders of Westeros to consider all of that as they debated the future of the Seven Kingdoms and decided who should replace Armitage Baratheon as supreme ruler. 

Leia had asked Robb Stark to sit to her right, a place of honor recognizing the King in the North and the sacrifices the Stark family had made in the rebellion against the Baratheons. As Leia’s heir, Ben was asked to sit at her left, an invitation he’d wanted to decline. He still didn’t feel as though he’d truly earned a place at this table, but he’d finally said yes because he knew how much this meant to his mother. He could endure a few glares and suspicious looks from others at the table.

Rey was seated next to Robb on the other side of the table, and while she kept her focus on Leia, every once and a while she’d glance at him, and then smile as their eyes met. Ben’s face would turn red every single time, and then Robb would chuckle softly. Ben wondered if there’d ever come a day when seeing Rey smile_ wouldn’t_ make his heart start beating faster. Every time he looked at her, he felt himself falling in love with her all over again. 

“As you well know, both Armitage Baratheon and the Night King have been defeated,” Leia said. “This has put us in a unique position: our time of oppression is over, but the future of Westeros remains uncertain. It is our job today to decide what that future will look like, and to hopefully usher in an era of peace and justice that will last for many years to come.”

“Well, that’s a rather tall order,” Jaime Lannister remarked dryly. “Although finding someone better than Hux shouldn’t be that difficult, because he was quite possibly the _worst_ ruler Westeros has ever seen.” 

There were murmurs of agreement from around the table. Everyone certainly felt relief that Hux’s reign of terror was over; what they were less certain of was exactly how to replace him. 

“Of course, the simplest solution is just to choose a new House, and let them supplant the Baratheons as the new royal dynasty of Westeros,” Tyrion said, studying Leia carefully. “However, I have a feeling you have something a little less conventional in mind.”

Leia’s smile was bittersweet as she looked around the table. “As a matter of fact, I do. I can’t claim credit for this idea — it was my dear friend, the Lady Amilyn Tyrell, who suggested it to me. I want to honor her memory by sharing her proposal today.”

Leia pulled out a scroll of parchment from a pocket in her dress, and carefully unrolled it. 

“As long as Westeros has only one ruler with absolute power, we will always run the risk of being governed by a tyrant,” Leia read, gently holding the paper that was, perhaps, the last written words from her closest friend. “May I boldly suggest, then, that Westeros not be ruled by one person, but by a council of seven, one representative for each of the Seven Kingdoms. Let the common people elect these representatives, who will serve for a limited time to prevent them from getting too used to wielding power.”

Ben expected people to start talking immediately, shouting their responses to this radical idea, but instead everyone sat in stunned silence. What his mother was proposing was so dramatically different from how Westeros had been governed in the past that no one was quite sure how to process what they were hearing. 

“Well, I can’t imagine that the people will complain about gaining more power,” Tyrion said, daring to be the first person to speak. “But the transition you’re proposing could bring quite a bit of chaos.”

“How about a compromise, then?” Sansa suggested. “Perhaps those of us who are here today can choose the first seven representatives, and then once their terms of service are done, we can begin holding elections. That will give us time to set up a new system.”

The concept was still somewhat difficult for Ben to wrap his head around; in the world he had grown up in, he was used to being governed by a monarch and respecting the age-old tradition of ruling Houses. But this felt right — maybe the new system wouldn’t be perfect, but it would save them all from another Hux. And the people of Westeros should have a say in their own destiny. 

“As a member of House Lannister, I nominate my brother Tyrion for this new council,” Jaime said. “Heaven knows he has a better head for diplomacy than I do.”

Leia nodded. “Tyrion is an excellent choice, and I was hoping he would be willing to serve. What about you, House Stark?”

Robb glanced over at his sister Sansa. “Speaking of a better head for diplomacy...I may be King in the North, but I believe Sansa is the best choice to serve on this council. She knows the capital — and its politics — better than I do.”

Sansa beamed with pride, ignoring the skeptical looks some of the older men at the table were giving her. Even though these men had joined the rebellion, they were still tempted to cling to some of the old ways. However, they trusted and respected General Leia Organa enough that they would follow her lead. It was time for some new voices, like Sansa’s, in Westeros. 

“Obviously, you’re going to be House Organa’s nomination,” Tyrion said to Leia, but to everyone’s amazement, the general shook her head. 

“I’ve already spoken with some of my advisers back in Alderaan, via raven, and while they encouraged me to serve on the new council, I declined. I led the rebellion, and I do not think it’s wise for me to immediately serve in another leadership position. I don’t want anyone to think I led this rebellion just so I could get more power.”

“But no one thinks that, General,” Robb interjected. “We all know your motives are good.”

“Still, symbols are important,” Leia said gently. “And my stepping down sends an important message. Perhaps one day I will run for the office of representative, but not now. Instead, I would like my son to serve.”

“You what? Surely you can’t be serious!”

Ben knew that wasn’t the most dignified thing he could have said, but it was the first thing that popped out of his mouth as he stared at his mother in disbelief. 

“I agree with that sentiment,” Jaime Lannister said. “No offense intended, Ben Organa, but you’re barely a member of this rebellion. Believe me, we all very much appreciated the arrival of you and your dragon at Winterfell, but I don’t know that you are in any way prepared for this.”

Ben would have been offended by Jaime’s words, if he didn’t absolutely believe they were true. His mother was experienced in politics and probably knew what she was doing, but this didn’t make any sense.

“Perhaps you might find my son an unconventional choice,” Leia said, staring directly at Jaime but in truth addressing everyone in the room, since most of them likely had the same doubts that Jaime did. “However, that is exactly why I am nominating him. We cannot fill this council with people who are already part of the political system. We need people who are skeptical and who will ask questions. He also has experience in the Night’s Watch and may have some important ideas about how to reform and rebuild it.”

Ben wanted nothing more than to stand up, push his chair away from the table, and flee from this room. Every single person was staring at him, most rather critically. He didn’t deserve the honor, and he certainly didn’t believe that he’d be any good at this. 

But when he’d committed to this path of redemption, he’d known it wasn’t going to be easy. If his mother wanted him to give of his time and his energy in this way, then he would. He had already decided that he was done running from his problems, and he wouldn’t run from this. 

The rest of the meeting passed by in a blur, as the other representatives were chosen and Leia led a discussion about the next steps. The representatives would all be given time to return home and gather their things before being summoned back to King’s Landing to begin the task of rebuilding Westeros. 

As a final demonstration that Westeros was entering a new era, Jaime, Finn, and the other members of the Kingsguard who had joined the rebellion carried the Iron Throne down to the courtyard, where Drogon was waiting. This was the Lady Amilyn Tyrell’s final idea, and no one had objected. It was time to destroy the Iron Throne for good. 

Everyone stood back as Ben gave the command “Dracarys!” and then Drogon breathed a hot blast of flame at the Iron Throne. As Lady Tyrell had written in her final note, too many people had died for this twisted piece of metal, and with a new council of representatives, one person would no longer command complete control over all of Westeros. The Iron Throne was needed no more. 

As the dragonfire burned hot and bright and the throne turned into a sludge of metal spreading out across the ground, Ben felt a hand slip into his. He looked over and saw Rey standing beside him, squeezing his hand as he watched the throne melt. 

“Representative Ben Organa — I like the sound of that,” she whispered teasingly.

“I think you’re the _only one_ who likes the sound of that,” Ben muttered, but her words touched him all the same. 

They stood side by side, their fingers laced together, until the dragonfire finally burned out and all the rebels let out a cheer. 

The Iron Throne — and all it represented — was finally gone. 

***

Rey leaned against the ledge of the open window and stared across the gently rolling waters of the sea surrounding King’s Landing. 

Although the balmy weather was a welcome respite after the battle in the icy mud outside of Winterfell, she still found herself feeling a bit melancholy tonight. 

Tomorrow morning Ben Organa and his mother would be traveling back to Alderaan and she would, presumably, accompany Robb and Sansa back to Winterfell. 

She loved Winterfell with all her heart, and a part of her would always remain there whenever she left. But the thought of going home without a certain someone she’d grown rather fond of filled her with a sadness that dampened the excitement she normally would have felt. 

“You know, tonight you’re almost as broody as a certain former member of the Night’s Watch,” Sansa teased, and Rey jumped, unaware that her sister had entered the room. 

Rey felt her face flushing. “Sorry — I was just a bit lost in my thoughts.”

“I can guess who they’re about,” Sansa said, smiling softly as she stepped beside Rey and joined her sister in staring out the window. “And based on what Finn tells me, Ben is doing a considerable amount of pining too. I can’t understand why the two of you don’t just do something about this misery you’re both experiencing.”

“I guess we have our own responsibilities to think about; everything just happened so fast with the fall of Hux and the Night King,” Rey said. “I have a duty to go back to Winterfell, and he has a duty to go back to Alderaan. And then he has to serve on the council here at King’s Landing and—”

“Rey.” Sansa gently but firmly cut her sister off, taking Rey’s hands and turning her away from the window, so they were looking at each other eye-to-eye. “You killed the Night King with a magic sword — you can do whatever you bloody well please. If what you want is a future with Ben Organa, then you have to seize it. 

“When I was talking with our mother at Winterfell, she said that her one regret in her relationship with our father is that she didn’t come to King’s Landing with him. She might not have been able to save him from execution, but she would have been there to support him, and tell him she loved him one last time.” Sansa’s eyes glistened with tears. “Don’t let a love like that slip through your fingers. If you let Ben go now, you’ll regret it forever.”

Sansa was right, of course — Rey’s greatest fear was that if she and Ben left King’s Landing tomorrow, their paths might never cross again. Alderaan was such a long, long way from Winterfell. After nearly losing him during the attack on the village of Crait, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him again. 

“I can’t give you any advice beyond that — I don’t really have anymore experience with romance than you do,” Sansa went on. “But I do know that Finn spotted Ben wandering alone in the gardens earlier, and if you want to speak to him without prying eyes or listening ears, that just might be the best place to find him.”

Rey squeezed Sansa’s hand; she didn’t really need her sister’s permission for what she was about to do, but it meant a great deal to have her support. 

Some might think Rey too bold, or imprudent. They might judge her, or believe she should wait. But Rey had seen enough of the world to know what she wanted — and that was guaranteeing that neither she nor Ben would leave King’s Landing alone. 

***

Rey found Ben Organa exactly where Finn had said: pacing through the maze of ornamental bushes in what was formerly Hux’s private garden. 

When he was alive, Hux had often followed those same steps, finding that walking up and down the rows of bushes quieted his restless mind. Although Ben was nothing like Hux, Rey wondered if her friend had also come here to seek release. 

Rey didn’t want to intrude on what was probably a much-needed moment of solitude for him, so she spent some time just admiring the lush greenery of the garden. The bushes were about as tall as her waist, and were covered with bright yellow flowers, the same color as the old Baratheon family crest. This color had once symbolized pain and oppression, but now Rey saw the yellow and thought of hope. 

“Rey?”

Ben had finally looked up and noticed her, and he appeared both surprised and nervous, clasping his hands awkwardly behind his back. She could see a flicker of excitement in his eyes as their gazes met, but it was quickly clouded by self-doubt. 

She knew he was still having a hard time believing he was worthy of her love, after all he’d been through. Well, she was here to prove that all those doubts were wrong. 

“Are you ready to leave for Winterfell tomorrow?” he asked, trying to hide his disappointment at the thought of saying goodbye to her. “I imagine you’ll be sick of traveling for a while; maybe up North you can finally find some peace and quiet.”

“I am ready to leave,” Rey said, looking him directly in the eyes. She could feel her heart rate picking up, and she took a quick breath to calm her nerves. “But I’m not planning to go to Winterfell. I want to see Alderaan — if you’ll let me come with you.”

“You want to see Alderaan?” Ben couldn’t keep himself from gaping at her. “And you want to go with...with me? But what about your family? I thought you’d be leaving with them.”

Rey knew what she was about to ask next was very bold, but she didn’t shrink from it. Perhaps she was going against tradition, but sometimes it was healthy for traditions to change. 

“I was hoping you’d catch on to what I was implying,” Rey said a bit impishly, “but if I have to tell you directly, I will. I want you to be my family too, Ben. I would very much like to marry you.”

Rey saw the complex flurry of emotions in Ben’s eyes, as intense as a summer storm. There was shock, disbelief, anxiety, and then finally, shooting through it all — like a bolt of lightning piercing the sky — was pure, unadulterated joy. 

“Is this a formal proposal, then?” he asked. His smile was more ridiculous than roguish, which was the effect he was trying for. But to Rey, it was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. 

“Yes — yes it is.” She walked towards him and placed her hands against the sides of his face, pulling him closer until their foreheads touched. “I do not know what the future holds, but I want us to face it together. Ben Targaryen Organa, will you marry me?”

Ben gently wrapped his fingers around her wrists as she held his head in her hands. Her heart was pounding wildly now, and she could feel his heart beating just as fast. 

“Rey Stark, it would be my honor.” 

She wasn’t sure who started kissing who first, and it didn’t matter. She happened to glance over and saw that Sansa and Finn were watching them from a distance, grinning, but she didn’t care about that either. 

Fate had brought her and Ben together, and their destinies would be forever tied now: House Organa and House Stark, the Phoenix and the Wolf. 

And together, they would help remake Westeros. 

***

_Note: I normally post chapter updates on Wednesdays, but I will be traveling next week and won’t be able to post a new chapter. But I’ll have a quick epilogue to this story to post once I get back! _


	14. Epilogue – Dreams in the Sand

Rey ran towards the ocean, her feet flying across the sand as the wind whipped out her hair. 

Earlier this morning, Leia Organa had braided Rey’s hair into an elegant knot, but it had since come loose, her hair now falling in waves down her back. She felt wild and free, as if she could just keep on running forever — past the palms lining the sandy shoreline and all the way to the sun setting in the distance. 

Alderaan was more beautiful than she had ever imagined — a sun-soaked paradise with warm breezes and a breathtaking view of the Summer Sea. Of course the Organa castle was beautiful too, made of limestone the same color as the sand on this beach, but Rey preferred to be outside as much as possible, feeling the sun on her skin. 

“Rey, wait!”

She heard Ben laughing behind her as he pulled off his boots and then took off running, trying to catch up to her. 

He was still wearing his formal clothes, a red tunic embroidered with the House Organa Phoenix crest, and a black cape lined with silver. Rey had changed into a simple white dress, the only ornamentation a row of beading around the collar. Her gray velvet wedding dress — lovely but far too heavy for a visit to the beach — lay in a pile in her room back at the castle. 

Rose had secretly helped her change and then escape from the castle, the two of them giggling the whole time. Rey and Ben were supposed to stay at the wedding feast until midnight, but Rey didn’t want to miss the sunset. They’d make their way back to the celebration eventually, and besides, most of the wedding guests had imbibed enough wine by now that they weren’t very aware of what was happening anyway. When she’d left, Captain Poe Dameron was singing a bawdy sea shanty that had Catelyn Stark rushing to cover her youngest children’s ears. 

Rey and Ben’s wedding had been a simple ceremony on the beach, with all of their friends and family members gathered around. Rey didn’t remember a lot of what happened; she’d been too overwhelmed by the experience, as if she’d been floating in a dream world that was too wonderful to be real. 

She remembered the vows, though: an ancient Westerosi rite that bound their souls and hearts together in both this life and the next. 

_I am his, and he is mine. _

She’d said those words to Ben, looking up into his dark eyes as they held hands. 

_I am hers, and she is mine. _

He’d repeated the words back to her, his eyes shining with emotion. The words were both a declaration of love and a promise that they’d never have to be alone again. 

“You’re too fast for me!” Ben called out to her, still laughing as he ran. He’d left his cloak behind him now too, and pulled off his tunic, finally giving up on the stuffy velvet garment. His loose, long-sleeved white undershirt looked a good deal more comfortable...but ditching his formal clothes still didn’t make him faster. 

Rey ran a few steps more and then abruptly stopped, turning around and grinning at Ben. He hadn’t been prepared for her to stop so suddenly, and they collided and ended up tangled up together on the sand (a result that certainly didn’t bother Rey). They were both soon soaked by the gentle waves brought in by the rising tide, but neither of them even seemed to notice.

Ben lay on his back in the sand, with Rey perched on top of him. He was pretending to give her a disapproving look, but the twinkle in his eyes revealed that he was enjoying this just as much as she was. 

“I imagine that we’re quite the sight right now — covered with sand and absolutely drenched,” he teased. “When you seduced me into coming out here with you, you told me this would be just a ‘quick walk’ on the beach.”

Rey laughed. “Well, if our appearances are such a mess, maybe we don’t have to go back to the feast at all. I’m perfectly happy right here.”

A shadow passed over them, and Rey glanced up and saw Drogon flying towards the castle, returning from a hunt. The dragon loved to perch on the highest spire of the castle, where he could easily observe everything going on below him. Drogon was free to go wherever he wanted to in Westeros, but like Rey, he seemed to have fallen in love with Alderaan. 

“You know, I don’t really want to go back to the feast either,” Ben confessed as he stared up at her. “Especially since Captain Dameron is just going to keep singing louder and longer the drunker he gets.”

“Then let’s not rush,” Rey said, slowly running her fingers through his hair. “We have plenty of time.”

There was so much she wanted to say to Ben right now: she felt like she could just keep talking on and on and on, filling the minutes with all her hopes and dreams for their future. 

But just as she’d told him, they had plenty of time for that later. There were more pressing things drawing her attention now: his deep, dark eyes; the feeling of his hands on her waist; and the way both their heartbeats were speeding up in perfect unison. It would be a shame to waste this moment, which came with a perfect backdrop provided by the setting sun. 

When she and Ben first met in the tavern owned by the Tico family, Rey had no idea that their paths would eventually lead them here. Back then, both of them would have balked at the idea of falling in love, but now it seemed inevitable and perfect that their fates were tied together. 

_I am his, and he is mine. _

“Have I ever told you how much I love you, Ben Organa?” she asked, and he smiled up at her. 

“You have, Rey Stark.” There was a teasing light in his eyes once more. “But I’m always ready to hear it again.”

She could have used words to communicate that to him, but she didn’t need to. She simply bent down, and kissed him again and again and again, as the minutes wasted away and the sunset deepened into night. The first stars appeared in the sky, tiny beacons of light in the darkness. 

Rey knew that eventually, more challenges would come their way. They’d fight, and they’d experience loss and sorrow. That was simply a part of being human.

But their love would be a rock they could always cling to, and it would grow deeper and deeper with every year they spent together. 

Though the road would not always be smooth, Rey knew that the journey would be worthwhile. She wouldn’t want to walk it with anyone else. 

**THE END**

***

_Thank you so much to everyone who has read “A Song of Sand and Stars” over the past _   
_several months! I was nervous before I started posting fanfiction for the first time earlier this _   
_summer, but this has been such an awesome and welcoming community. Thanks to you all! _


End file.
